Life After Death
by JenniferR.Song
Summary: The Time War is over. The Daleks and the Time Lords are dead, save one. And for the Doctor, his newest life is just beginning. Crossover with “Star Trek: DS9.” Pre–“Rose,” S5 for DS9. Rating has gone up! BLOOPERS UP!
1. Gallifrey's End

Okay, so I know I have two others stories that I'm working on, but hey, I wanted to go ahead and get this one out. I've got through chapter nine finished and the epilogue, so updates should be regular, about once or twice a week. I say that because our internet's currently down, so I'm regulated to traveling to the nearest Wi-Fi spot and loading it up that way. And to any American readers, happy 4th of July!

**Extended Summary**: The Doctor escapes from the dying Gallifrey at the end of the Time War, fatally wounded, and finds himself aboard the Federation Space Station Deep Space 9. How will the Doctor adjust to his ninth life as the only Time Lord in existence, and can he solve a paranormal murder on DS9 at the same time before the creature strikes again? (Pre "Rose", S5 of DS9)

**Spoilers**: Takes place between "Business as Usual" and "Ties of Blood and Water" for _Deep_ _Space_ _Nine_ and just before "Rose" for _Doctor Who (2005)_.

**Pairings**: Worf/Dax, hints of Odo/Kira

**Disclaimer for whole story**: I don't own either of these lovely creations. So there's nothing for anyone to sue me for. Seriously. Don't bother.

* * *

Chapter I: Gallifrey's End

"War is harmful, not only to the conquered but to the conqueror."  
–Ludwig von Mises–

"_Ex-ter-mi-nate! Ex-ter-mi-nate! Ex-ter-mi-nate!_"

The tinny mechanical voice echoed around the cathedral-sized room whilst dust shook from the high, ornately decorated ceiling and swirled around the room as the wind howled inside. In the large room was an old rectangular blue box, surprisingly out of place in the hi-tech room. In the middle of the room, a few feet away from the box, was a six foot wide sunken nucleus of celestial object commonly a called black hole, its protective cover removed, with flashing lights blinking randomly on several consoles scattered around it that had been bolted to the floor. And attending to the controls at one console was a man with light brown hair, and an oxygen mask covering his pale face, a multi-hued sash tied incongruously around his waist that shimmered in tune with the dome and kept him from being sucked into the black hole.

"C'mon, c'mon," muttered the man, his words distorted by the mask. "Please work."

But this wasn't an ordinary man. This man was known throughout the whole of space and time as the Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, located in the constellation of Kasterborous. Outside the walls of this circular room, a war was being fought between his people, both the planets' larger Gallifreyan population and the small group of long-lived Time Lords, and the Daleks from the planet Skaro, mechanical horrors whose only purpose was to exterminate all non-Dalek life.

And Gallifrey was losing.

Was being "_exterminated_."

The Doctor ran a hand through his long brown hair, matted with blood from a large cut on his forehead that was bleeding profusely. More cuts were across his face. The room rocked again as another Dalek attack shook the ground.

Shakily, he pressed more buttons, but to no avail. He stepped away from the console, put a hand on the palm-sized print on it and closed his eyes.

_What do I do?_ he telepathically asked the Leader of the Council, the ruler of the planet.

_We are losing_, responded the Leader. _You must activate the self destruct sequence on the Eye through the Rod. Perhaps some of us will live to carry on our legacy_.

The Doctor swallowed, then nodded. _I will do it_. He swallowed and put an ornate rod into a specially made key hole in the console, turned it ninety degrees to the right, then input the first code that would trigger a delta wave across the entire Gallifrey sector. He did this again and again until the rod was back where it had started. As the rod locked into position, mauve lights began flashing, while an emotionless computer repeatedly droned in a strangely Earth-British accent, "Warning, self-destruct for the Eye of Harmony has been enabled." He hesitantly held his free hand over the large red button beside the rod in the center of the console that would trigger the self-destruct cycle.

The Leader seemed to sense his hesitation. _Do not worry. Most of the children were evacuated to other worlds at the beginning of the war and their time essences contained. If anything else, they will survive, albeit as new races. _

The Doctor nodded and pulled his hand away, breaking the telepathic link. He hadn't relished the idea of killing innocent lives, even for the greater good of the whole universe.

Just as he was about to press the button, a side door opened and he jumped away. A Dalek rolled through the door, followed by another and another. The Daleks swarmed into the room. The one in front, a black domed one, rolled to a few feet away from the Doctor.

"You – will – step – a-way – from – the – console," it said in its flat mechanical voice.

"No," stated the Doctor. "This has gone on far enough. I will not allow it to continue."

"You – are – in – no – po-si-tion – to – argue."

"And neither are you," said the Doctor through gritted teeth. As he reached for the button, the head Dalek tried to zap him with its extermination beam. However, the beam was not at full power, and only ripped through his right side, blood seeping out. The Dalek positioned the laser at the Doctor, not deterred in the slightest.

"You – will – be – ex-ter-mi-nat-ed," said the Dalek, strangely sounding very smug.

The Doctor groaned, holding his bleeding side. "Not if you're exterminated first," he said, pulling himself to his feet.

And he slammed the button with all the force he could muster.

Instantly, the sunken dome began to crackle with a power overload. The Daleks backed away, now visibly scared of what was happening.

The Doctor grinned. "Game – over."

He started stumbling toward the TARDIS, his ship. As he fell just inside the door, he witnessed the room beginning to explode. The Daleks that had been trying to escape were consumed by fire. The Doctor tried to cover his face with his hands, but he was still burned from some of the blast as he was pushed back even more inside the TARDIS at the same time. The Sash, now useless, disintegrated into powder. The TARDIS, sensing the Doctor's pain, automatically started up, the doors shutting from the force of the explosion, and carried him away from the self-destructing star system.

The Doctor pressed his bleeding side with his burned left hand. Blood seeped between his fingers from the pumping of his damaged second heart. With his free hand, he felt his face. The skin was dry and crispy and some flecks came off in his equally scorched hands. This body didn't have much longer to live. Already, he could see the golden glow under his skin that heralded regeneration.

The rocky trek seemed to last forever. For a few seconds, all was quiet. Then a humming sound surrounded everything and the Doctor had the vague sense he was being torn apart and reassembled on a molecular level. Very. Slowly.

Finally, everything stopped. He could hear someone trying to get in on the other side. Weakly, he hauled himself to his feet, lifted his free hand and pressed the door open. A man in a black and blue uniform stood there with some sort of device in his hand. Another faceless man, this one in a tan uniform, stood behind him. He could see more people behind him, but the one in front was the most important. He could recognize a fellow doctor a mile away.

"Help me," were his last words before he collapsed.

* * *

So, there's chapter one. Not much DS9 action, but I think the next chapter'll make up for it. And as far as any continuity issues between my story and, well, canon, I apologize. I never did see the _Doctor_ _Who_ movie, only read the Wikipedia summary, as well as any information you saw in this chapter related to the older series. Oh and I wrote this before "The Stolen Earth," so any similarities are coincidental. So, until the next chapter's posted, please review!


	2. Regeneration

Chapter II: Regeneration

"To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."  
–Albus Dumbledore–  
–_Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_–

_Captain's Log  
__STARDATE 50685.2_

_The Dominion has been disturbingly quiet recently. With Gul Dukat in charge of the large systems of Cardassia, now a part of the even larger Dominion, I halfway expected __more trouble than usual from him. However, our luck appears to be holding…for now._

Quiet days on the Federation Space Station Deep Space 9 were few and far between and usually were a precursor some sort of trouble from the Dominion. But, like Captain Sisko had said, the Federation's luck appeared to be holding.

Well, that was about to change.

Captain Sisko was in Ops, looking around at the controls. Only he, Lieutenant Jadzia Dax and Chief Miles O'Brien were present. Both of the officers were at their respective stations. Commander Worf was on the Defiant, making a standard search around the perimeter. He would be back the next day. Major Kira was in the holodeck, running a battle simulation against the Jem'Hadar, but only a comm-call away.

"Benjamin," said Jadzia Dax, the station's science officer. Worry was etched across her beautiful face. "Something's coming through the wormhole."

"Are you sure, old man?" he asked her.

"Yes, it's very small, probably only a few meters long at most." Her head snapped up. "Possibly a probe." At over three hundred years old and eight lifetimes, Jadzia Dax was spiritually old, although physically she was only in her twenties.

The wormhole spilled open, the lights of the Celestial Temple a splash of vibrant blue color against the inky cold blackness of space. Out of those lights came a dark blue box, a small blot against the background of undulating white lights.

"Magnify."

The blue box was magnified. White markings were across the top but Sisko couldn't see exactly what was written. It spun, silently and slowly.

"Life signs?"

Jadzia's fingers danced across her board. "It's hard to tell. The box has chroniton particles emanating from it and its physical structure doesn't seem to be all there. Hold on." More buttons were pressed. "I've got it. One humanoid life sign aboard, very weak. There's another life sign registering as well, but it seems to be part of the box."

"Can we beam it on board?"

Jadzia nodded. "It's possible. It's a little over two meters tall, so it should fit safely on the transporter."

"I've got it, Captain," said O'Brien. "It'll be here in a few minutes. I'm having to adapt the transporter for it." A faint shape started to appear on the transporter pad.

Sisko slapped his commbadge. "Doctor Bashir, Odo, please report to Ops on the double. Doctor, bring your emergency kit, we may have wounded."

"_Aye, Captain, coming_," came the response from Bashir.

"_On my way_," came the gravelly response from Odo.

"Major Kira, please report to Ops."

A grunt answered his call, followed by, "_Yes, Captain_." And the signal cut off.

As Bashir, Kira, and Odo appeared in the lift, the blue box fully materialized in a haze of golden sparkles. Written on the top, in _English_, of all languages, were the words "Police Public Call Box." Puzzled, Sisko reached up to push the entrance open, but it wouldn't give. He stood back as Bashir stepped forward with his tricorder.

"I'm reading one life sign just on the other side of the door, if that's what it really is."

Everyone started as the door suddenly opened and a figure spilled out. He was wearing what appeared to be late nineteenth or early twentieth century wear, with a glittery fabric melted into the outfit. His long, light brown hair was matted to his head and blood dripped from his burned face and hands. More blood flowed from his right side, leaking through his long, pale fingers.

He seemed to assess his surroundings before focusing on Bashir.

"Help me," he whispered. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.

"Whoa!" Gently, Bashir caught the man before he hit the ground, thankful for the swiftness caused by his genetic enhancements of long ago. He scanned the man and his eyes widened in shock.

"Two hearts, binary vascular system. Damage done to secondary heart by some kind of energy blast. Second and third degree burns to the face and hands." He jumped as a wave of golden energy appeared under the man's facial skin. "That's weird."

The man gasped, coming back to consciousness. His mouth opened and closed like a fish, the skin around his cracked lips bleeding anew.

"Relax," murmured Bashir. "You're onboard the Federation Space Station Deep Space Nine. We're trying to help. Do you understand me?" This last part was said in the hope that the stranger understood Federation standard and that two word phrase wasn't a fluke, or at least understood Bashir's soothing tone.

The man bobbed his head, and opened to mouth to say something, but his body arched up in pain before he collapsed again. Bashir's tricorder began beeping wildly.

"His other heart's destabilizing! I need to get him to sickbay! Chief!"

"Got it!" O'Brien's fingers moved with precision as he locked the transporter on the two and beamed them into sickbay.

As soon as he rematerialized, Bashir began barking out orders at high speed. The Bajoran nurses flew around, trying to save the alien's life, but to no avail. They moved him into a side room, where Sisko and the rest of the senior staff could watch in safety. Kira slid in silently next to Dax. The heart monitor that was regulating the primary heart continued to drop.

Once again, the man awoke.

"Keep still, we're doing what we can," said Bashir, but the man grabbed his arm. He struggled to speak, but his words were comprehensible.

"Listen to me," he said, blood gathering at the corners of his mouth. When Bashir tried to pull away, he tightened his grip. "Listen to me!" Once he was sure he had Bashir's attention, he continued. "I'm dying. I know that. There's nothing you can do to stop it." His voice had the lilt of a cultured Englishman, but the blood made him sound like he had cotton in his mouth.

"Don't have that attitude!" said Bashir.

The man grinned. "Trust me, I'm not." He looked around at the Bajoran nurses and doctors. "You need to get everyone out of here."

"But–"

"Now! Just do it!" He let go as a wave of golden energy surged through him again.

Bashir was ready to argue until he saw the man's eyes. They were a blue-green, far older than the dying face they were set in. But they were also confident. Whatever was happening to this man, he knew what the results would be and that they wouldn't fail.

"Everyone out!" barked Bashir.

"Sir?" asked one of the nurses.

"That's an order! Get with Captain Sisko!"

The nurses scrambled to obey.

"You too, Doctor," said the man. "I don't want any chance of the energy backlash killing you. Rassilon knows I've been responsible for enough deaths today." He groaned as the mysterious golden energy showed itself again. It was getting harder and harder to hold the regeneration back. If he chose not to regenerate now, the energy explosion alone would kill anybody on this station.

Bashir was shocked, but he put aside his personal beliefs for now. This man was a patient and, murderer or victim, he was to be treated fairly and his last wishes honored.

"Go! Just go!"

Bashir scrambled out and practically ran to Sisko's side.

"You're just going to let him die?" asked Kira incredulously.

Bashir shrugged. "He threw me out. I can't treat a person who refuses treatment. At least we've still got audio feed though." He thumbed a switch. "Can you hear me?"

"_Yes_," came the response. "_Is everyone out_?"

"Yes."

"_Good. I promise, I'll answer all your questions in just a few minutes. See you then_."

In silence, the crew watched as the man stumbled to his feet, though they didn't why. He took a deep breath and the crew jumped as he threw his head back and arms out and suddenly erupted into pure golden light streaming out his arms and upward from his head. As they watched, they heard the already ripped cloth tear as the man's body appeared to grow longer and thinner. The long, curly brown hair regressed into his skull to a few short centimeters and changed color from light brown to jet black. His nose changed from straight to a noticeable beak and his ears extended outward. A small Adam's apple formed on his previously smooth throat.

On the walls and ceiling, black burn marks appeared and Bashir saw why the man had told him to get out. If he'd still been in there, he would have easily been incinerated by the blast. With a twang of his heart, Bashir noticed that the equipment that had been in the room was being turned to black dust before his eyes. Starfleet Medical wouldn't be happy about _that_.

Finally, the golden light cut off and the "new" stranger panted heavily. Now slate-blue eyes scanned the room in confusion before shaking his head and coughing.

"_Ouch, that always hurts_," came across the speaker. But it wasn't the same voice. Rather than sounding like an Englishman, now he sounded slightly Scottish. And his voice had dropped about half an octave. "_Mm, let's see, teeth are the same. Hands are bigger, that'll take some getting used to_." He tried to step forward and almost tripped over his feet. "_And I'm taller too. A _lot_ taller. I'll have to remember to duck through the doorway now_." He sighed audibly. "_You can come back in now, it's safe_."

Cautiously, Bashir stepped inside the room.

"Hello!" said the man cheerfully, smiling at the Starfleet and Bajoran crew. He managed to sit down without falling and only vaguely noticed that while he was sitting down, he was almost eye-to-eye with Bashir. Yep, at least four inches taller.

"You don't look the same," said Bashir, frowning.

The man waved a now larger hand and stared at it in fascination. "Huh." His attention snapped back to Bashir. "Just a technicality. Actually, if you'll scan me, you'll find I'm in tip-top condition. Fantastic, huh?"

Bashir did so and his eyes widened. "Your secondary heart's been fully repaired, and your cellular structure has been reorganized. Matter of fact, it's still reorganizing itself." He looked up. "It's like you were just born."

"Regenerated, actually. Specialty of my species. Nice little trick to avoid death, don't you think?" His eyes sparkled with a sad joy.

"Yes, very nice," said a deeper voice.

The man grinned. "Hello to you too!" He stuck out a hand. "I'm the Doctor, who're you?"

"Captain Benjamin Sisko."

"Nice to meet you, Captain."

"I didn't catch a last name. Doctor Who?"

The Doctor grinned. "Exactly."

Sisko sighed, but let it pass. "You've met Doctor Bashir. This is the rest of my staff. Major Kira Nerys–"

"Are you related to Romana?" the Doctor asked.

"Who?"

"Old friend, bitter enemy, depending on who you ask. Just making sure."

"My head of security, Constable Odo–"

"Ah, shapeshifter, always a perk of your job, eh?"

Odo, startled at this deep observation, simply nodded.

"My Chief of Operations, Miles O'Brien–"

"Ah, an Irish man. I remember back in 1257, or was it 1342, can't ever remember. Met a chap named O'Brien. You look just like him."

"And my science officer, Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax."

"Dax? Is that you? Wow! You look even better than ever! Which body are you in now, your fifth? No, sixth?"

Dax's forehead creased. "I'm sorry, do I know you? Knew you?" she corrected.

The Doctor frowned. "Mm, guess not. Then again, I did look a bit different. I've gone through quite a few regenerations since then. Maybe you remember a young man, big scarf, big hair too, offered you a unique sweet?"

Dax stared at him, then began to sputter. "I can't – you can't – I thought he – you were _him_?!"

"What's going on?" asked Sisko. Rarely had he seen the aloof Trill demoted to sputtering.

"When I was Emony, my third host, I was in a gymnastics tournament. This young man was there, with a young woman and he offered me a small red candy! Oh, what was it called? A Jelly Belly! The woman couldn't stop laughing. And the scarf he had was huge! It looked like someone had forgotten when to stop knitting!"

The Doctor blushed slightly. "Yeah, well, that salesman told me it looked good with my skin tone. I'm sure it's still in the TARDIS somewhere."

"The what?" asked Kira.

"TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S. Stands for 'Time and Relative Dimension in Space'." He looked thoughtfully at Dax. "Do you still like Jelly Bellies?" he asked her.

"Too sweet for me," she replied. "And this is my eighth host now," she added.

The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Missed."

But Kira wasn't to be distracted. "So, you're a time traveler?" she asked him.

"Usually. I just came out of a big war, so I'm not inclined to travel right now. Matter of fact, I actually need to sleep for the next, say, twenty-four hours, at least. Allows my body to finish working its magic."

Now that he had stopped talking, they could see how tired he really was. Also, he suddenly hiccupped, and a wisp of golden energy came out of his mouth.

"Sorry. Leftover cellular energy. More an annoyance than anything else."

Sisko sighed. "Very well. Doctor Bashir will check on you every hour, make sure you're okay."

"Mm-hm, okay, I'll just go to sleep now." And true to his word, he settled onto the biobed and fell asleep almost instantly.

Bashir threw a blanket over him. "Computer, lights off," he whispered. The lights dimmed to the point of almost non-existence, casting the Doctor in shadow. Quietly, the DS9 staff walked out of the room and shut the separating door.

"What do you think of him?" Sisko asked his crew.

"I don't know, Captain, he could be a Dominion spy," answered Odo immediately.

Bashir shook his head. "At first, I too thought he might be a Changeling. Then I noticed his blood." He held up a vile with some of the man's blood in it. It was slowly turning black. "If this was Changeling blood, it would have already turned golden, not black. This was from when he came in." He poured it out into a sample dish and put it under a microscope. "Amazing!" He pulled out another vial, this one still bright red. "I slipped this while he was talking." Again, he poured and studied it. Finally, he moved to a large screen.

"Here's what human DNA looks like," said Bashir. A two dimensional version of it appeared on the screen.

"That's all well and good, Doctor, but he's not human. For that matter, neither am I," said Kira.

"True, but human and Bajoran blood are similar enough for this explanation. This is his blood before." Another genetic template appeared, this one with more strings packed closely together. "And now." A copy of the second template appeared, but as they watched, another string was wound into the DNA cord. "From this, I can tell you he's done that regeneration thing about eight times before now."

"He goes to the point of death," mused O'Brien. "Then, just as he's dying, he, what, is reborn?"

"Yes," said Bashir. "And that's what else is so interesting. The blood shows that the previous incarnation, if you will, was only about a decade old. The oldest, or should I say, the original template, looks _hundreds_ of years old. I can't tell you for certain. There's some kind of chroniton particles that are fused with his DNA. The computer can't tell exactly what kind, but it is a variance of the ones we recognize from temporal rifts and the like. I'll have to run more tests to be sure."

"I don't think he's a threat," said Sisko. He turned to Odo. "But just in case, keep an eye on the box."

"Of course, Captain," said Odo stiffly, as though stung from the Captain's words.

* * *

And now the Doctor's on board. I wondered why the Jack was so stubborn on getting the Doctor into the TARDIS at the end of "The Stolen Earth" and this was my way of saying what would happen if he wasn't. In my humble opinion, only the TARDIS could stand the massive energy outflow without being severely damaged like the sickbay room in this story. Speaking of which, the ending was all right. It could've been worse, I suppose. (_Sigh_) At least, for now, RTD is safe from my finding him and hanging him upside down by his toenails while I disembowel him. Come to think of it, that's probably why he's leaving. Huh.

I hope to get some reviews with this chapter. If not, it'll be a while before I update. I'm trying to finish up two other stories, one of which has been hanging since the end of January. Please feel free to check those out, one of which is the last in a series, just to caution you. The next part is up to y'all.


	3. First Steps Again

Chapter III: First Steps…Again

"And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up."  
–Thomas Wayne–  
–_Batman Begins_–

The Doctor woke up to complete blackness. His head hurt. He felt like he had imbibed a dozen hyper-vodkas at once and alcohol did not react well on a Time Lord's stomach, as he had found out once before and hoped he never would again. He sighed and rubbed his head, taking in the feel of a buzz cut instead of the curls he had finally gotten used to.

"Ah, good, you're finally up."

The Doctor cracked open one eye to see the shadow of Doctor Bashir leaning over him.

"Computer, lights, half-level."

Instantly, the room lit up.

"How long was I out?"

"Thirty-six hours. Your ship was transported to a cargo bay. Odo tried to shift through, and ended up with a burned hand. Apparently, your ship doesn't like strangers."

"No, she doesn't. And I bet she's really tetchy right now." He yawned. "Well, time to face my new life. Do you have a mirror?"

"In the bathroom. Why don't you get a shower? Throw those clothes away?"

The Doctor glanced at the ruined clothes. "I guess. As soon as I stand up, they'll probably fall off anyway." He sighed and stumbled to his feet, making his way to the side bathroom. He forgot to duck in time, however, and his forehead made a loud _THWACK_! against the doorway.

"Ouch," he muttered, but he continued onward, ignoring Bashir's attempts to help. "I'm good, I'm good, now, where's that shower?"

Ten minutes later, he came back out, clad in a standard set of Starfleet underclothes, playing with his large ears.

"Certainly big enough. Could've been worse, I suppose. What do I do about regular clothing?" he asked Bashir. "I don't think the Captain would approve of me wearing a Starfleet uniform."

"Just tell the computer what kind of clothes you want, and it'll replicate some for you."

"Neat. Let's see. Do you have a tape measurer with you?"

"No, actually, I don't. Computer, one flexible tape measurer, please." The asked-for item appeared in a swirl of lights and the Doctor began measuring himself and rattling off numbers. Soon, he had a dark pair of trousers, dark boots and a blue sweater.

"Something's missing though." He snapped his fingers. "I know, a nice black leather jacket. Always wanted one of those."

The jacket appeared and he yanked it on. "Perfect fit! Wish I could install one of those on the TARDIS."

"I'll talk to Captain Sisko about that."

"You do that." He fished through the pockets of the old clothing and withdrew a long silver cylindrical device and pocketed it.

"What's that?" asked Bashir curiously.

"Sonic screwdriver," said the Doctor brightly. "Third model, I think. Never left it behind before and won't ever do so. Now!" He rubbed his hands excitedly. "Where do you suggest we go for breakfast?"

"How about the Replimat?" suggested Bashir. "It's usually pretty good and you don't have to pay like you would at Quark's."

"Quark's, eh, sounds interesting. I'll add that to my list of places to visit." And without another word, he swept out.

Just out the sickbay doors, he paused. He had never been aboard DS9 before, even when it was Terok Nor.

Bashir came up behind him and, clearing his throat, pointed in the correct direction.

"I knew that."

He began walking, Bashir keeping pace next to him. All around him were Bajorans, Starfleet personnel, and even a bunch of Klingons. Other species he had seen in other parts of the galaxy passed him, as well as newer species.

Finally, they found the Replimat. At one of the tables was a grey-skinned man. The Doctor recognized his species as Cardassian, a race that was as ruthless as the Terran cobras they were often compared to.

"Dr. Bashir!" he said cordially, standing up. He was smiling, but underneath that mask, the Doctor could feel him scanning him, trying to detect if he was a threat.

"Hello, Garek," Bashir said. "How's the shop?"

Garek waved a hand. "It's fine. And you are–?" This part was directed at the Doctor.

"The Doctor."

Garek frowned. "The Doctor?" he said skeptically.

"Just the Doctor." He smiled warmly, but Garek didn't smile back. Rather, the Cardassian looked…wary of him. Had he visited the Cardassian world in the past? Nope, he would definitely remember. Maybe it was in his future. He'd have to consult his wibbly-wobbly ball of time theory later on. Maybe one day, he'd fully get it.

"Very well, Doctor. I suggest you get some lunch soon." Garek's voice was tight.

"I'll get it, Doctor," said Bashir and he left.

"Well, Doctor," said Garek, interlacing his fingers, "have you ever visited Cardassia?"

The Doctor recognized the interrogation tactics and cheerfully plowed forward. "Nope, not that I can remember. 'Course, I have had amnesia a couple of times. Tends to knock things about. Really annoying." He smiled widely. "Also makes for a really fun time. Never know if I've been there or will be there."

Garek simply blinked. At that moment, Bashir placed three trays on the table.

"Here's today's special," he said, as Garek and the Doctor chose their trays.

The Doctor sniffed it. "Smells good." He dug in. "Mm, not bad at all. Had worse."

"_Sisko to Bashir_," issued a voice from Bashir's delta commbadge.

Bashir slapped the badge. "Yes, Captain?"

"_Is the Doctor with you?"_

"Yes, sir."

"Hello, Captain!" shouted the Doctor. A few people, Starfleet and Non-Starfleet alike, stared at them. "Good morning!"

"_Good morning, Doctor. Would you and Dr. Bashir please report to my office in fifteen minutes?"_

"No problem, sir!"

The connection closed with an abrupt chirp.

Garek cleared his throat. "Good day, gentlemen." He scooped up his tray and, depositing it back in the replicator, left quickly, his back ramrod straight and giving off a threatening aura that made other people scatter out of his way.

"What's his problem?" asked the Doctor.

Bashir shrugged. "He's had a hard week. His home planet exiled him a long time ago and now it's been taken over by the Dominion."

The Doctor frowned. "I know that feeling." He sighed and smiled. "So, Dominion, eh? Sounds interesting."

Bashir stood. "C'mon, I'm sure Captain Sisko wouldn't mind explaining our situation if you explain yours."

"Ah, an answer for an answer. I'd do the same thing in his position."

Bashir nodded and took the lead to Sisko's office, the Doctor trailing behind and staring wide-eyed at the station's various merchants selling their wares like a child in a candy store.

* * *

Short chapter, I know. Thanks to Houseaholic88 for reviewing. I'm sorry it's short, but once the internet is back up at my house, I'll update ASAP. Until then, I value reviews and flames alike. Hey, I have to keep my gecko Draco alive, you know.


	4. An Old Acquaintance or Two

Chapter IV: An Old Acquaintance or Two

"Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing."  
–Octavia Butler–

Sisko looked up from his PADD-work in time to see Bashir and the Doctor standing just outside his office doors. He pressed a button on his desk to allow them entry. The Doctor bounded in, Bashir trailing behind.

"Gentlemen, good morning."

The Doctor plopped down in one of the chairs, while Bashir slid stiffly into the other. Sisko put the PADD down and intertwined his fingers, leaning back in his chair. The Doctor's attention, however, was focused on the small baseball sitting on the captain's desk.

"Doctor?" prodded Sisko.

"Oh, sorry, just looking at your ball. Baseball, right?"

Sisko nodded. "Yes. I take it you are familiar with the sport?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I've been to a few games. Babe Ruth was pretty good. You should see the Askonians play. They have two sets of arms, so they get two bats. But more often than not, they end up hitting themselves with one of the bats."

"So why haven't they gone down to just one bat?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "'Cause it's _funny_. Don't look at me, I don't get it either."

Sisko simply raised one eyebrow.

"So," said the Doctor, rubbing his hands excitedly, "I assume I'm here for my briefing?"

"That is correct."

The Doctor blew out a breath and interlinked his long fingers. "Well, I'm the Doctor, no real name important and I'm from the planet Gallifrey. Don't bother looking for it, it's been wiped from history."

Sisko's other eyebrow rose to match the first. "What happened?"

"Well, that's a long story–"

Before he could launch into a further explanation, there was a brilliant flash of white light and a familiar figure was perched precariously on Sisko's desk.

"Oops, I missed," Q said simply, jumping down. He was a clad in a black Starfleet uniform with red shoulders, four pips on his collar. He noticed the new uniform and snapped his fingers. Now his outfit was black with gray shoulders and a red collar, but still with four pips.

The Doctor smiled, noticing the obvious anger on Bashir's face and the furious calm of Sisko. "Hello, Q. I see you're still getting in trouble. At least, in this universe."

Q waved a hand. "Pish-posh, I'll have you know I haven't put a planet out of orbit in years. And that last one was nothing to fix. Besides, it was _your_ fault."

"Really, so you did manage to get Zena II back in its orbit. I'm sure the natives loved that."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, they did."

Sisko cleared his throat. "Gentlemen, I apologize for breaking this up, but how on earth do you two know each other?"

Q snorted. "Please. Time Lords and Q? We've known about each other since the beginning of time. Literally." He rounded on the Doctor. "Speaking of which, what in the name of the Continuum has happened? Whatever you did this time has been felt all the way across most universes and a few other dimensions too!"

The grin that been in the Doctor's face faded quickly. He stood up quickly, and when he looked at Q in the eyes, his own steel-blue eyes were hollow and full of pain.

"They're gone. All of them. I'm the last."

"What?!" Q's jaw had dropped and he was now sputtering. "That can't be! Surely other Time Lords survived whatever happened?"

Bashir snorted. "I thought Q knew everything, being _all-knowing_," he sarcastically said, stressing the last word.

Q looked at him like one would an uninteresting bug. "Not with his race. We are for the most, shall we say, blind to their future events due to the transduction barrier and quantum force field that surrounded the planet." He shrugged. "At least, we were. Now Gallifrey has been wiped from the face of the universe. It's like the planet never existed."

"Then how do you know it even existed in the first place?" asked Sisko curiously.

"Humans," huffed Q. The Doctor merely grunted and plopped back down in his seat. "The Q are above historical shifts. Since we see all that was, is, what will be, and what could be, we have a natural immunity to temporal disruptions."

Sisko opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted.

"Q!"

A flash of white blinded them and when they were able to see again, a woman, also in a new Starfleet uniform but with admiral's bars, with long red hair and a toddler on her hip stood on top of Sisko's desk. It seemed to be the popular spot for landings today. She jumped down, mindful of the toddler, who looked around the office with wide, dark eyes. She put him down, letting the boy explore the office. He didn't get far, as his father scooped him up. Pursing her lips together, she placed both hands on her hips.

"We have been looking all over for you and I find you with humans. It isn't enough you're fixated on that Janeway woman, now you're fraternizing with these primitives."

"Janeway?" asked Sisko. "Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship _Voyager_?"

"The one and only," said Q. "Most stubborn woman I've ever met."

Lady Q laughed. "Says the Q who wanted to mate with her."

"Well, she declined, didn't she?" he retorted.

"That's not the point–"

"Q," interrupted the Doctor. Both turned to him, glares on their faces. "Although I'm sure the Captain enjoys your argument, there are more important matters to attend to."

"Who are you to interrupt a Q with such impudence, insect?" Lady Q snapped.

"Wrong thing to say," muttered Q.

The Doctor quickly stood. He towered over the woman, anger radiating from every cell of his being, his hands balled into fists to keep his temper in check. "Who am I? I am the last Time Lord of the late planet Gallifrey. Every _planet_ of every _time_ has a legend of my species. I was known by our _greatest_ foes as The Oncoming Storm for very good reason."

By now, Lady Q had actually shrunk against Sisko's desk. The others felt the Doctor's aura as strongly as though they were the focus of the storm.

"I am the _sole_ survivor of the Time War that has been felt throughout space and time for _countless_ centuries. And I am _not_ about to just _fold_ _up_ when some egotistical god-wannabe with a superiority complex tells me that _I am not worthy of her short attention span!_"

Lady Q actually fell on top of Sisko's desk at this point, so shocked was she that someone had actually defied her.

"Doctor," said Q gently. The aura around the Doctor reduced. "I don't think she'll do that again."

The Doctor flopped down in a chair. "Good. I hate it when omnipotent beings think they're God."

"Aren't we?" snapped Lady Q, who had finally gotten her voice back.

"No, you're not, believe me."

"And what of you? Are you a god?" asked Lady Q, with a touch of scorn.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, and I never will be. I'd make an awful god. You'd never get a day off for starters."

A sudden beeping got the Doctor's attention. "What are you doing?"

"Your stress level is extremely high," said Bashir, passing his medical tricorder over the Doctor.

"You think?" retorted the Doctor. He stood up again, but this time, his posture was weary. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Or, more likely, the universe.

"Unless it involves alien invasions, lethal plagues or temporal fractures, don't bother calling me." And he brushed out without another word.

"Well," said Q, shifting the baby to his other side. "His manners haven't improved in this regeneration either."

"How long have you known the Doctor?" asked Sisko. "Personally, I mean."

"Oh, about six hundred of your years. And he was already a Time Lord then." He shivered. "At least he never met Guinan. That woman _hates_ me."

"I remember the report," said Sisko dryly.

"If you don't mind, Captain," interrupted Bashir. "I've got some work down in sickbay to do."

"Excused, Doctor." And Bashir left.

"And as for you," said Lady Q, turning on her husband and child. "It's time we got back to the Continuum." And she vanished with a flash of white light.

"Yes, dear," muttered Q sarcastically. "Say bye-bye to Uncle Benny," he said, waving the toddler's chubby hand at Sisko.

"Bye," whispered the boy, just as they too vanished in a flash of white light.

Finally alone in his office, Sisko sighed and rubbed his temples in frustration.

_I knew I should've stayed in bed today._

_

* * *

_I just could not resist throwing Q in. It only seems natural that Time Lords and Q would have to cross paths at some point in time. No pun intended. No, wait, yeah, that _is_ funny. Intended, then.

I know the chapters are short, but believe you me, once the action gets started, you'll be savoring every word. (Grins evilly).

Once again, my thanks to Houseaholic88 and to Kyer.

Cassi: Ahem, are you forgetting something? Or someone, rather?

Ah, yes, the muses. What story is complete without having a nagging muse behind your head, pointing out errors and fidgeting about canon events?

Mariyh: None, that's why we're here.

Very well, introductions while I'm at it. Cassi, Muse of Eternal Darkness. Specializes in Goth, and Dark items. Mariyh, Muse of Eternal Light and Hope. Specializes in perkiness and optimism. New to the team is DT, Muse of Romance and Flirting. Stands for "David Tennant" because he appears in that exact perfect form. (_Stops to drool for a minute_) Hey, how many of _y'all_ watched "Journey's End"? Also new to the team is Nina, Muse of Knowledge and Research. Kind of like Hermione Granger on caffeine. For more details on them, see my profile page.

Now that you know the team members, it's time for you to review. I now have four muses to feed instead of two. Please don't let them starve, lest you become their dinner.


	5. Nightmares

Chapter V: Nightmares

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain."  
–Frank Herbert –  
–_Dune_ –

As the Doctor stomped out of Ops, he couldn't help but notice the stations scattered around. It was, after all, in his nature to poke around in things that weren't supposed to be poked around in, but he did it anyway. Curiously, he peeked and prodded at a few until an ensign told him he had to leave. Begrudgingly, he did so.

As he wound his way through the crowds on the Promenade, his attention was caught by an excited shout.

"Dabo!"

Grinning, he made his way toward the bar from which the shout had originated.

* * *

Quark was surprised. No, that wasn't the right word. He was dumbfounded. Yes, that sounded better. The stranger at the Dabo table had been playing for two hours now and his winnings kept increasing. Somehow, the man was able to bypass the system Quark had installed that made such a winning streak impossible.

The stranger grinned. "Dabo, again!" One of the Dabo girls grinned and hugged him tightly. Quark finally had enough.

"Sir," Quark said cheerfully, "why don't you unwind with a drink, let another play, hm?"

"Good idea," he said. He scooped up the strips and slips and a bar of latinum he had won and put them in his jacket, except for a few slips he put on the bar. "I'll have the strongest you've got."

"Coming up," Quark said. He looked around to make sure Odo wasn't looking, then took out a long, thin bottle of blue liquid. The man's eyes flickered from the bottle back to Quark, who leaned down and whispered conspiratorially, "This stuff is the best in the entire quadrant." He poured a glass of the blue liquid.

"Ah," said the man, nodding eagerly. "And you don't want station security to know about it, right?" He took the glass and sniffed it.

"Careful, it's rather–" Quark was taken off guard as the stranger swallowed the drink down in one large gulp. "–potent."

"Ahh, refreshing," he said, smacking his lips. "This stuff I like." He pushed the glass back and motioned for Quark to refill it.

"So," said Quark, refilling it. "What's your name?"

"Mm, most people call me the Doctor."

"The Doctor?"

"Yep, just the Doctor." He tossed the drink back.

"You know, Doctor–" Quark refilled the drink. "–most people come in here because they have troubles they can't tell anyone else."

"So you fancy yourself a, oh what do humans call them? A…shrink? Yes, that's it."

Now Quark was interested. "So, you're not a hew-mon?"

The Doctor made a face. "Rassilon, no! I've been enough times to their planet, I could have voluntarily citizenship. Well, if it wasn't for Torchwood." He finished his drink. "Thanks for the drinks." He got up, just the barest bit unsteady, and walked out.

Quark sighed and looked at the half-empty bottle of (illegal) Romulan Ale. "I'm getting softer the older I get," he grumbled, putting the bottle back in its spot where even Odo couldn't get it. At least, he was sure Odo couldn't get it. Then again…

Quark shook his head and moved onto the next customer.

In the TARDIS, the Doctor slept voluntarily for the first time in a century. But even his alcohol-induced sleep couldn't shake his nightmares.

* * *

_Burned trees were scattered across the brown land, their silver leaves lost to fire. Bodies were everywhere, a strange contradiction of pale color against the brown. The red on the ground under the bodies was not the grass but their blood. In the blood-red sky above, Daleks swarmed like bees. Extermination beams engulfed survivors, who shrieked, their skeletons glowing radiation green under their skin, before falling to the ground, dead, with a paradoxically gentle thump. These were normal __Gallifreyans__, those who had never gone to the Time Lord Academy, never gotten the regenerations, just normal people that would have lived out a normal lifespan if not for the Time War._

_The Doctor stood on a mountain top overlooking the valley, watching the horror going on below. He felt like he was rooted to the ground, unable to move, unable to do _anything_, frozen in time. As he stood there, a hand grabbed his right ankle. He inhaled sharply and managed to twist around to look._

_A small child, no older than ten, lay there. Her face was half-burned off, the result of an extermination beam not fully charged. The arm not grasping his leg ended in a stump and her dark purple dress was ripped in some areas. Anger was written all over face._

"_Murderer!" she hissed._

_He tried to protest, but found his throat was stuck. _

"_You killed me! You killed my family! You killed us all!" she angrily whispered through her teeth, which the Doctor could see had almost all been torn out. Blood ran down her face from the corners of her lips like the vampires of Earth legend. _

_The Doctor felt another hand grip his other ankle. And another. Soon, __Gallifreyans_ _of all ages were grabbing his legs, bringing him down to the ground below. As he sank into the mass of bodies, they all chanted one word, louder and louder, his ears ringing in pain._

"_MURDERER!!"_

* * *

With a start, the Doctor woke, both hearts beating rapidly and heavily sweating. Panting, he frantically glanced around the TARDIS. When he was satisfied that no one was crying out in pain or terror, he flopped back down and was asleep within minutes.

* * *

In another part of the station, a passenger ship was granted permission to dock. Among them was a young woman clad in a simple brown cloak. Her sad lavender eyes shone through the darkness of the hood. She brushed her hand against a pouch at her side and smiled at she felt the small vials within that had evaded detection by the station's system.

Soon, soon, she would meet the one who had destroyed so many lives in his existence.

* * *

Ah, ha, the game's afoot! So, who do y'all think she is? I already know who I have picked out to "play" her, but until then, I'll take your guesses. And yes, I just had to throw in Quark. I don't know if I'll have a Prophet scene in this story. Opinions?

Thanks to my few reviewers. I hope this chapter brings in a few more:

Houseaholic88, Kyer and nazgulslayer.

So, please review. It makes life so worth while. Plus my muses are hungry. (_Eyes_ _Mariyh_) Why do you have the salt? See what I mean? Review please!


	6. Murder on the Space Station DS9

Chapter VI: Murder on the Space Station DS9

"Murder most foul, as in the best it is,  
But this most foul, strange, and unnatural."  
–Ghost of Hamlet Sr.–  
–_Hamlet_, Act I, Scene V–

As the days passed, the Doctor settled in at the station. The rocky trip through the wormhole had drained the TARDIS of all her fuel, so now all he could do was wait for her to do was fill up on the station's extra energies until he could find a better power source. Without the Eye of Harmony, she no longer had a constant energy supply. In the meantime, however, he had no aversion to showing her off. After all, he was the one taking up room in one of DS9's valuable cargo areas.

The first words out of Kira's mouth were, "How does the outside wrap around the inside?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. Why was that the first question out of everyone's mouth? He opened his mouth to say something about the stupidity of the human race, then remembered. Kira wasn't human; neither was Dax or Odo for that matter. Or Worf, who was staring at the console with utter bemusement.

"Don't you have _any_ weapons?" he gruffly asked, his deep baritone echoing around the TARDIS.

"Nope!" said the Doctor. "Well, except for the fact she flies and travels in time. Are those weapons? No, I reckon not."

Worf grunted, while Dax looked at the consoles. "What language is this?" she asked, trying to decipher it.

"My language," said the Doctor. "And please don't touch anything unless you want to make her blow up." His warning was sufficient enough to keep fingers off the keyboards.

"What's the column for?" asked O'Brien, scanning it with his tricorder. "It's not made of any known substance. Something organic, though."

"That's because she was grown, not manufactured," said the Doctor shortly, glaring at the chief engineer. He didn't like all these people poking around his ship (looking, yes, commenting, maybe, but not poking and prodding); it was quite rude, even by his standards.

O'Brien didn't get the hint, but simply kept examining the center of the ship. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kira trying to sneak away.

"Where're you going?" he asked, not meaning to be rude, but that's how it came out.

"Um, where's the bathroom?" she asked, slightly embarrassed.

The Doctor sighed and pointed to a hallway. "Go down that way, take a left, then two rights, go straight until you hit a green wall, then turn left again."

Nodding in somewhat confused understanding, Kira left the room.

"And don't go into any red rooms!" he called after her.

"What's in the red rooms?" asked Odo.

The Doctor didn't reply, but a glint in his steel-blue eyes made Odo's eyes widen as far as his human-ish face allowed; he then took off after Kira.

Ten minutes later, both came back smelling slightly of sulfur.

"Let me guess," the Doctor said wryly, "you went in a red room."

"It was magenta!" stated Kira through her teeth, her crumpled nose wrinkling even further, whether from anger or embarrassment, he wasn't sure.

The Doctor shrugged. "Magenta, red, same difference."

"Only if you're color-blind," muttered Odo, who had unconsciously moved into a protective stance behind Kira.

The DS9 crew left the TARDIS slightly worse for wear but smarter about what was inside the little blue box. As they walked out, the Doctor locked the door with his key. He didn't want there to be any chance of anybody trying to break in.

Not that they would succeed, of course.

* * *

Ensign John Smith sometimes felt like the most ignored man on earth. Scratch that, the universe. He was on a space station on the very fringe of Federation territory and to top that off, no one ever remembered his name. John Smith was just such a common name that it usually wasn't even added to orders. Ensign this, ensign that. It was as if they didn't care about him.

He didn't suffer from depression; at least, he didn't think so. He sighed. He really hated that his parents thought that naming their only child Jonathan would have been an honor of sorts. Hah! As if _anyone_ in the 24th century was _actually_ called John Smith. When he got home, the first thing he was going to do was pick out a new name. After all, with his parents recently deceased, it wasn't like they could do anything about it. He had only kept the name to please them.

He froze as he heard something overhead. It sounded like someone was crawling through the overhead vents. He sighed again and grabbed a phaser and a tool kit. Maybe if he was lucky, it was just another vole. He swung himself up into the vents and started moving along the tiny passageway.

"For such big aliens," he grumbled to himself, referring to the Cardassians, "they sure built small walkways. Not even a real walkway. More like a crawlway."

To his left, he saw a shadow flit by. He frowned before turning his lean frame in that direction. He finally reached the end of the tunnel where it branched out and looked right.

When he looked left, he screamed.

* * *

Dax frowned as she looked at her console. It was registering a power surge in the middle of the station, near its core. And for the life of her, she couldn't figure out where it had come from.

"Dax to O'Brien."

She heard an Irish curse before O'Brien came on. "O'Brien here. Something wrong, Dax?"

"Yeah, can you check out something for me? I got a power surge on the computer but it can only give me a rough area."

"Sure, where is it?"

Dax rattled off the location and O'Brien whistled.

"That's close to the center of the station. I wonder what on earth could be there?"

"I don't know, Chief, but I'm sure you'll find out," she said with a grin, though O'Brien couldn't see her face.

"No problem, Dax," he said, and the line went dead.

* * *

O'Brien moved along the passageway that Dax said the energy spike had come from. The humidity was slightly higher than normal in the passageway for some reason, causing O'Brien to stop every few meters and breathe deeply. He stopped at an intersection as the sweet smell of honey hit his nostrils.

Hold it. Honey? What the–?

As he looked left, he saw what it was. He hit his commbadge.

"O'Brien to Ops. Transport two directly to sickbay. And tell the doctor to prepare for an autopsy."

"He's perfectly preserved."

Dr. Bashir frowned at the body in front of him, which was lightly sparkling with a preserving forcefield. The poor ensign had likely known what was going to happen to him but dead by then, as his sunken mouth was frozen in a perpetual scream. On the other side of the autopsy table was Sisko, the Doctor, and Odo, but the Doctor had no idea why the shape-shifter was there. Perhaps he thought the body would jump up and start attacking people. Wouldn't be the first time in the Doctor's lifetimes that something like that had happened.

"All the liquids in his body were drawn out by some kind of salt-preserving process which I haven't been able to identify yet."

"Vampires."

The simple answer startled the DS9 crew. The Doctor was watching the body intently.

"Shall I check for bite marks, then?" said Bashir sarcastically.

The Doctor nodded. "That would be a good place to start."

Frowning, Bashir pulled the ensign's collar down to reveal…

"Two small puncture wounds," said Bashir, startled.

"Mmm, what looks like a vampire, walks like a vampire, bites like a vampire, but isn't a vampire?" mused the Doctor.

"Make up your mind, Doctor, is it a vampire or not?" said Odo crossly.

The Doctor shrugged and began walking around the body, studying it intently. "Could be. Or it could be a salt-deficient plasmavore trying to assimilate itself onto the station to avoid detection. No, couldn't be, those bodies are left solidly intact, this one is shrunken in on itself like a mummy, meaning not only did the creature drain the blood, but all other liquids as well. Every drop of blood, water, acid, fat, everything. Leaving only the hollow shell that with one good touch could dissolve into dust before our very eyes. Must've been quite hungry to drain that much out. Good idea putting it in a forcefield as soon as it arrived, by the way."

All this the Doctor had said without taking a breath and without considering Bashir's open mouth, he plowed on.

"So…the question remains, is the murder someone passing by or is he or she posing as a Starfleet or Bajoran crew member here? Where did you say the body was found again?"

Startled by the sudden attention and the Doctor's forceful air, Sisko gave him the location. The Doctor's face became stone hard as he gazed at the withered husk of the unfortunate ensign.

"Near the central hub of the station, where better to hide? Plus, near the wormhole, so any anomalous readings could be dismissed, especially if it only happened once in a while. So what made this time special?"

Odo chose that moment to jump in. "When you arrived, we had no idea whether or not more of your kind would follow. I had Lieutenant Dax fine-tune the computer while you were incapacitated to better detect ships coming through the wormhole."

"But she did some reverse work too," said the Doctor grimly. "Not only did she fine-tune the outer sensors, whatever she did fine-tuned the inner sensors too. Otherwise, it would've just registered as a small spike in power and in a few days, this ensign's body would've dissolved, _PFFF, _right into thin air. Even the best DNA detectors couldn't pick him out of the air then."

Sisko crossed his arms. "Anybody you know that could've done this?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I'm not sure. Most of the ones I would think responsible were eliminated when I was way younger. There were the Great Vampires, a giant race of destructive and powerful creatures, ancient enemies of the Time Lords. The King Vampire somehow managed to avoid complete destruction by retreating into E-Space, an artificially created universe that takes all the heat out of the normal universe to keep it alive, else by now the universe would have died from heat death. Over time, he licked his wounds and one day lured an Earth crew into their midst and corrupted them. But I took care of them a long time ago, with some help. Killed the chief vampire, and in turn, the crew turned vampires." He imitated a stake going through his heart. "Just with a scoutship left over from the Earth ship, the vampire was so big."

Sisko nodded his head. "Doctor, I want you working with Constable Odo to find this killer. Dr. Bashir, begin researching techniques that could neutralize this threat. Non-lethal and lethal alike. I do not relish the idea of DS9 shutting down while a vampire or its equivalent runs rampant on this station."

The Doctor suddenly snapped a mock salute, making Doctor Bashir jump a little. "Yes sir, Captain, sir!" And without further ado, he walked out of sickbay, his long legs making even longer strides. Odo scrambled to follow him after giving Sisko a look that clearly meant he felt his "territory" was being trespassed on.

* * *

And with the conclusion of this chapter, we reach the half-way mark. I hope I still have your attention, especially with that little tidbit at the end of the previous chapter and the ubiquitous killing of the red-shirt in this one. And what better red shirt than an ensign named John Smith? (_Grins_) The title of this chapter is taken from the Agatha Christie's _Murder on the Orient Express_, which you may have caught was said by Donna in the recent episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp."

Thanks to my reviewers. TARDIS-shaped cookies for all, even the ones who didn't review, but should have:

Houseaholic88, Kyer and nazgulslayer.

Now, you may notice the chapter positing slowing down a little. I have finished the entire story except for chapter 11, which is a little slow in developing. The epilogue is already done, so I know who will live or die. The only problem is sorting it all out (isn't it always?), so please be patient. At least I have my internet back now. The episode the Doctor referenced was the following: _State of Decay_, Serial 5P, Season 18, starring Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. They are mentioned again in "The Infinite Quest," an animated adventure starring the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones. It is available on Youtube, if you know where to look. I have not included any vampire stuff set in _Doctor_ _Who_ books, as they tend to contradict each other. The actual TV show is the best source of info.

So, until the next chapter is ready to post, which shouldn't be too awful long, please read and review. My muses are driving me up the wall and reviews will appease them for a while.


	7. Know Thine Enemy

Chapter VII: Know Thine Enemy

"He who fights against monsters should see to it that  
he does not become a monster in the process."

–Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche–  
–_Beyond Good and Evil_–

"Are we there yet?"

O'Brien sighed as he was asked the question that was the plight of many. It didn't help that the question came not from Molly, his sweet little girl, but a nine-hundred-year-old-plus Time Lord with the patience of a two-year old.

"No, we're not."

The Doctor sighed and continued to follow O'Brien through the narrow tunnels. They couldn't beam into the middle of the station as some kind of power grid wouldn't allow them to. And Odo couldn't go, as a bunch of Klingons had decided to start (yet another) brawl in Quark's just as they were going into the Jeffries Tubes. So, instead, they were now crawling through said tubes like Cardassian voles.

"Are we there yet?"

O'Brien felt like screaming.

* * *

It was another fifteen minutes before they reached the scene of the crime, by which time O'Brien was ready to throttle the Doctor. He restrained himself, but only because he didn't feel like being court-martialed. The Doctor proceeded to scan the room with his sonic device while O'Brien watched in fascination.

The device beeped. Frowning, the Doctor shook his head, then his screwdriver and took his scans again. It whirred and beeped again and the Doctor's eyes widened and he said something under his breath that the translator didn't recognize. Or couldn't. Or wouldn't.

"We need to get out of here," he muttered. "Now."

Quickly, he and O'Brien left the small area. In their hurry, they didn't notice that they were being watched.

* * *

Back in Sisko's office, the Doctor paced between Odo and Kira, while Sisko watched patiently.

"Orsini."

Sisko blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Your murderer. He's Orsini."

"And just what are Orsini?" asked Odo.

"They're what inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula. They had a bad habit of popping up in the late 19th to the early 21st centuries. As such, they became the stuff of legend. All the books, horror movies, you name it, that's where it all originated."

"And what do they have to with this murder?" asked Kira.

"That's the problem," said the Doctor, wishing right now he had long hair so he could run his fingers through it. But he couldn't do that with the military haircut he was now stuck with, so he settled for pacing. "Orsini aren't supposed to exist in the 24th century. Most of them were killed during the 21st century. The last one was killed in the mid-23rd century. So the bigger question is, how have they managed to survive to now?"

"You mentioned a Time War," inserted Odo. "Could they have slipped through the cracks of time and landed here?"

The Doctor nodded. "It's certainly possible."

"Why do they kill?" asked Sisko.

"They kill to feed off the body's energy, especially synaptic energy. But because it takes all the energy out of the victim's body, it also draws out all the energy in the blood as well. The Orsini drew out every drop of energy it could. Probably hadn't had a good meal in a long time, judging by the body's dehydrated state."

"Is there any way to fight it off?" asked Kira. "Or reason with it?"

The Doctor nodded. "Ultra-violet light sends it running. If we were on a planet, the sun would keep them at bay during the day." He paused. "That rhymed." He shook his head. "Anyway, I would suggest that everyone carry around a UV device with them. At least that'll distract the Orsini long enough for you to escape until we come up with a better plan. And no, there's no way to reason with it. Once it's decided that it wants to eat you, it eats you, unless you can offer it a better deal. It may be sentient by your standards, being in humanoid form usually and can talk with you, but I guarantee, you meet an Orsini and it's the last thing you ever do."

"Does it have a specific preference for anything?" asked Odo. "Or will it just latch onto anything it finds?"

"It prefers organic lifeforms with a blood base of iron. I imagine if it tried to bite you, it wouldn't like your taste, 'cause you're silicon based, right?"

Odo nodded briskly. "I'll see that my security force is armed accordingly." With a brief nod to Sisko and Kira, he left. The Doctor watched his retreating back with interest.

"Doctor Bashir mentioned a Dominion," he said abruptly. "Who are they?"

Sisko sighed. "They're an organization located in the Gamma Quadrant. They don't particularly like people from the Alpha and Beta Quadrants going through the wormhole into 'their' territory." He watched Odo going down in the 'lift. "Odo doesn't show it, but I imagine it tears him up knowing that his own kind's the Founders of the Dominion."

"So why doesn't he go back to them then?"

"Because he was raised Bajoran," said Kira softly. "He was found as an infant and raised by a Bajoran scientist. Until a few years ago, Odo considered himself as much Bajoran as I do. Then he found his people and he was happy for a little while. And then he realized that they were responsible for a dictatorship that exterminated anyone who disagreed with their ways."

The Doctor winced. That one word, exterminate, made his hearts ache as the memory of his burning planet flashed in front of him. He sighed and dismissed himself from the office.

Sisko watched the Doctor go. For a minute, the Doctor stood in front of the office doors, then briskly walked to the 'lift and left.

"What do you think of him, Captain?" asked Kira.

In response, he simply gave her a PADD that had been on his desk. She read it through once, then read it again.

"What is this?"

"That, Major, is a report from the mid twentieth century about the Doctor."

She frowned at the top of the PADD. "What's Torchwood?"

"It was an organization that was founded by the British Queen Victoria in 1869 to keep humanity safe from alien threats and not be discovered by the common people in the process."

"What, like a secret police to monitor alien activity on Earth?"

Sisko nodded. "Exactly. But if you note, that was almost two centuries before Earth's First Contact with Vulcans."

She handed the report back to him. "How did they keep aliens secret from everyone?"

"Simple. They told them that aliens _did_ exist."

She blinked and laughed. "How does that keep people away? Seems to me it would make them even more interested."

"True, Major, but the United States military figured that if they told people part of the truth, then they would think it was a lie. For years, people believed that there was a place in western North America that was home to alien experiments. If they had bothered to look across the Atlantic Ocean, they would've found Torchwood. A little more than a century after that rumor began, humanity made official First Contact."

"What happened after First Contact?"

"Torchwood was deemed obsolete and merged with Federation Alien Research. The leaders of the groups left and went their own ways. There's one rumored to still be alive to this day."

Kira snorted. "That's impossible."

Sisko smiled widely. "That's why it's just a rumor."

* * *

So, now the creature has a name. Sneak peak of the next chapter to whoever can guess where the name came from. Also, as the story stands, there are only two fixed points in time. The rest of the new _DW_ series hasn't happened yet, officially. They are: 1. Jack is immortal; that was destined to happen; and 2. Torchwood was established to fight off alien invaders that threatened the British Empire. I might actually expound on this point later on. I just can't tell you how, especially if there happens to be a sequel. "If" being the key word.

To my lovely reviewers:

Houseaholic88, Kyer, nazgulslayer, and ann no aku.

So, until the next chapter, please review. College starts back for me on the 18th, so I'm trying to get as much done as possible before then. This story should be finished by Labor Day at the latest, along with _25 Ways to Prank Snape_, after which I shall be working solely on _Prongs Rides Again II_.

Lots of Love from MM!


	8. Face to Face

Chapter VIII: Face to Face

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now  
I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known_._"_  
–I Chronicles 13:12–_

"Hi!"

The Doctor started. He had been lost in his own world on the Promenade when the small child's voice had startled him. He looked down to see a little girl, five, perhaps six at the most, with Asian features and a gap-toothed smile.

"Hello," he said, smiling sadly. She reminded him of Susan when she was that age.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm the Doctor, what's your name?"

The girl giggled. "Molly. What kind of name is the Doctor?"

He smiled even more widely. "It's a name I chose a long time ago. Where's your mommy?"

Molly pointed in a vague direction in the mass of people.

"Well, it wouldn't do for her to worry. Let's go find her, all right?" He held out a hand for her.

She frowned at him. "Mommy's says I'm not 'posed to go with strangers."

He shrugged a little. "If we know each other's names, then I don't think that makes us strangers. Besides, if you think you're in trouble, you can call Constable Odo, okay?"

"Promise?"

"Promise. And I never break my promises."

The child debated this logic carefully, then took his larger hand.

"Now, let's find your mommy."

* * *

Keiko was beside herself. One second, Molly had been next to her; a second later, she was gone. She was about to find a security officer, when she caught sight of her older child holding a stranger's hand and leading him straight to her. The strange man let go of her hand and Molly rushed into her mother's arms, while 'Yoshi squalled at the sudden movement.

"Molly O'Brien, where have you been? I was worried sick, I thought someone had snatched you." She faced the stranger. "Thank you, sir."

He smiled sadly. "You're welcome. A parent should never have to worry about losing her child."

"Oh?" She glanced at his rough appearance. "I wouldn't have pegged you for a dad."

His smile dropped. "I was. She was killed a few weeks ago, along with her daughter."

"Oh, my, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked, it wasn't my business–"

"It's all right…?"

Keiko reddened slightly. "I'm sorry. My name's Keiko O'Brien. And you've already met my daughter Molly. And this is my son Kirayoshi."

The smile returned a little. "Chief O'Brien's wife, huh? He's a lucky man." He turned to look at the child. "Don't go running off again, okay?"

"Okay," said Molly, holding onto her mother's pantsuit.

"Thank you, sir," said Keiko.

"Oh, no, not sir. Just the Doctor."

Keiko smiled and tried to shake the Doctor's hand, but the bags she was carrying slipped off and hit the ground.

"Oh, dear," she muttered.

Silently, the Doctor helped her gather her purchases. Kirayoshi fussed and without even realizing it, the Doctor had proffered his hands for the boy to play with.

"Oh, would you please?" said Keiko, taking his outstretched hands as an offer to hold the baby. "Thanks so much."

The Doctor stared down at the little boy in his arms. The boy had dark, wide eyes that held a mysterious quality to them. He wondered, just briefly, if this boy could've made it into the Time Lord Academy when he turned eight. The Doctor took in the sight of Keiko with her bags, both the groceries and her eyes.

"May I walk you home?"

The words surprised even him. He had sworn off domesticity, yet here he was doing it again.

Keiko brushed her sweaty hair out of her eyes. "That would be much appreciated."

The Doctor held out his free hand to Molly, who latched on immediately and began firing questions at him.

"What planet are you from? Do you have any more family members? What's your favorite color? How old are you? Why're your ears so big?"

"Molly–" said Keiko in a warning tone of voice.

"It's all right," said the Doctor. He turned his attention back to the girl. "In order, Gallifrey, yes, a great-granddaughter your brother's age, blue 'cause that's my TARDIS's color, about 900 and so I can hear better."

Molly giggled. "You're a funny man."

The Doctor chuckled a bit, which caused the girl to giggle even more.

They got on the turbolift and Keiko gave it the directions to their apartment in the habitat ring. They rode in silence, except when Yoshi yawned and snuggled closer into the Doctor's leather jacket. The Doctor smiled at the child, marveling how such a small child could lift his heavy hearts. Then again, humans tended to do that to him. No matter how much humans went through, somehow, they found a way to survive and bring out the best in their species. And that's what kept him coming back to Earth again and again.

"Can I see your ship?"

The Doctor smiled, glad that he didn't intimidate the child. He was, after all, much taller than her. "Of course." Then he noticed Keiko's face and quickly added. "If your mother doesn't mind, of course."

"Only under _close_ supervision," said Keiko.

"Thanks, Mom!" beamed Molly.

The doors opened and they got off. As they walked, the Doctor noticed a sweet smell in the air, plus it was getting noticeably colder the further they walked. A chill trickled down the Doctor's back as he realized what was going on.

"How close is your place?" muttered the Doctor.

"Just over there," said Keiko, nodding to a door some ten meters away. "Why? What's going on?"

"Trust me, walk faster," he said, slipping out his sonic screwdriver. Molly had gripped onto his pants and 'Yoshi was whimpering at the sudden temperature change. With practice born of his first incarnation's years of fatherhood, he swung Molly onto his hip and tucked 'Yoshi closer to his body to protect the infant. He hoped he was wrong, but then again, trouble seemed to follow him everywhere.

Keiko screamed. Yep, trouble had found him.

Ahead of them, between them and the O'Briens' door, was a white mist that smelled of honey. Slowly, it coalesced into a being that was the personification of horror.

It looked humanoid, but its white misty eyes and pasty complexion gave away its unearthly origins. It smiled at them, revealing long, pristine canines in its mouth.

"Who are you?" demanded the Doctor, training his sonic screwdriver on the vampiric creature.

"Why do you need to know, prey?" it said, the words sounding slow and serpentine. "And who are you to deny me my nutrients?"

Molly whimpered.

The Doctor tightened his jaw. "I am the Doctor."

The creature's eyes widened in surprise, then amusement.

"So, I finally meet the killer of his own kind, the one who destroyed two powerful civilizations to end a war that spanned all of time and space. So noble. So…heartless." He bowed. "I am Niko of the Orsini. And you are the Doctor, a Time Lord from the late planet of Gallifrey." He said the title mockingly. "The last of the Time Lords now."

At the Doctor's expression of horror, he continued, his tone oily. "Oh, yes, I know of your past, Doctor, because, for me, those events happened in my youth. Centuries ago, your actions destroyed my planet. We had to seek other planets for refuge. After much searching, I chose a small, somewhat insignificant planet called Earth."

Dawning appeared on the Doctor's face. "_You_ were Stoker's inspiration for Dracula."

Niko grinned broadly. "Yes, a man caught sight of me feeding on a homeless man and wrote a novel. Made a fortune, as I recall."

During his explanation, Niko had moved forward and was now face to face with the Doctor. He inhaled deeply and the Doctor instinctively stepped back to protect the children. Keiko remained frozen beside the Doctor.

"Such fresh blood," he purred. "How good you would taste right now."

He reached out to stroke Molly's cheek, but the girl buried her face in his leather jacket. The Doctor could feel her body tremble with terror.

"Don't harm them," grated the Doctor. "They have done nothing to you. They're only children."

"Ah, yes, so they are, but the mother is strong. She will suffice." He tried to advance on Keiko, but found the sonic screwdriver blocking his way.

"No. I will not have their blood on my hands," said the Doctor, his grip on the screwdriver so tight he thought he might break it. "Let them go. I will remain."

Niko considered his proposal, licking his colorless lips, then nodded in agreement. "A Time Lord would taste better anyway." He motioned to the device. "That goes with them. No tricks for you, _Doctor_."

He stepped aside, allowing Keiko to take Molly and Yoshi to their quarters, as well as handing Molly the sonic screwdriver, which the child grasped tightly in her tiny hands. The bags lay forgotten in the corridor.

Now it was just the Doctor and the pseudo-vampire in the corridor. The Doctor allowed Niko to circle him like a predator stalking his prey, but not allowing the creature to sense any emotion that would detract from the very small possibility of escaping.

As if the creature were telepathic, he murmured, "I wouldn't count on Starfleet rescuing you. By the time they get here, I shall be long gone and you…shall be dead."

_Shame,_ he thought. _I've grown rather attached to this body._

The Doctor did not shiver as he felt Niko's hot breath behind his ears. Or maybe it was just a heating and ventilation shaft overhead, he did not know.

_Then again, why bother? If I survive, I'll be the only Time Lord in existence, doomed to live forever alone. I should've died with my family._

He felt the fangs pierce his neck.

"Oi, you!"

The fangs withdrew. The Doctor wavered for a second, then dropped to the floor, clutching his bleeding neck. Hazily, he looked down at the end of the corridor, in the direction of the turbolift.

A tall, beautiful woman stood there. Her long, sea-green hair was tied back, with only a few loose strands surrounding her heart-shaped face. Lavender eyes shone furiously at the creature. A brown cloak lay abandoned, revealing a tight black bodysuit designed for combat. In one hand was a pistol of some sort. In the other, a small vial that she loaded into the gun. A hiss told the Doctor that the vial's contents had been drained into the device.

"Stay away from him," she hissed, pointing the weapon at Niko.

"So, we meet again, Mashi," he said, baring his fangs at her. "Last time we met, you came out worse, if I recall correctly."

The woman, Mashi, fingered her neck, pulling down the collar, where two small, but distinct pinpricks remained. "Yes, but as you can see, I'm back with a vengeance." She bared her teeth. Her canines were also long and sharp. "And this time, we are even."

Niko's eyes widened. Clearly, he had not anticipated an even match. With an evil grin, he turned into vapor and vanished into the vents overhead, but not without having the last word.

"Next time, Mashi, next time."

Mashi growled, but put the gun away and rushed to the Doctor's aid. He looked weakly up at her. His hearts pounded as the Orsini's venom tried to convert him. His physiology fought the poison every step, but was losing every second. Already, he could feel his body growing colder, even colder than his usual temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and his features becoming more vampiric.

"Don't worry," she muttered. "I'm a friend."

She took out a device and pressed a button. The last thing the Doctor remembered before blacking out was seeing sparkling lights.

* * *

Ooh, my first cliffhanger for this story! For Mashi, I chose Natalia Tena (_Harry_ _Potter_'s Nymphadora Tonks) to play her. I'm still trying to decide who I want to play Niko. Mm, perhaps Alan Rickman? No guesses yet as to the origins of the word Orsini. Hint: the word is found in a book published in the 16th century

Thanks to the reviewers. Hope this chapter motivates more of y'all to review!:

Houseaholic88, Kyer, nazgulslayer, and ann no aku.

So, I'm hoping to have the next chapter up within the next few days or when I get, say, five reviews, whichever comes first. That part's up to y'all. No, I'm not holding the story hostage, I just have been looking at my reader traffic stats. I noticed a lot of US visitors, seconded by UK, followed by Canada, and Australia, with a few others scattered in. 81 visitors to this story for August alone! Wow!

So, for now, I'll be under my own transduction barrier, as I have a feeling rotten tomatoes will soon be launched at me for leaving the chapter like this. (_rotten tomato hits barrier_) Yep, here it comes! See you next!


	9. Flashbacks

Chapter IX: Flashbacks

"It is sad how one dark moment can live forever burned in the back of one's mind."  
–Anonymous –

Bashir had been working on a report for Starfleet when he heard the distinctive whine of a transporter. Warily, he set the PADD down and poked his head around the corner.

The red transporter resolved into two shapes: a woman with green hair and the Doctor. He was about to call for security to remove the woman when she turned to face him. Her face was taut with worry and urgency.

"Hurry! We must get the antidote into his system before he is Turned."

Not questioning orders, Bashir helped the woman load the Doctor onto a biobed. He took scans of the Doctor while she fumbled with her gun. The results weren't good. His body was shutting down, yet, at the same time, being altered for a new kind of survival.

"Got it!"

She popped a vial with half its contents left out of the gun and snatched a hypospray from the nearest tray. Ripping out the contents, she loaded the vial into the hypo and pressed it against the Doctor's neck before Bashir could stop her.

The Doctor howled in pain as whatever was in the potion was activated. Bashir watched, horrified, as the Doctor scratched at his inflamed neck, while his canines, which had lengthened slightly, shrunk back to normal size. Panting heavily, as he had when he had regenerated, the Doctor slipped into unconsciousness.

Bashir sighed and called Sisko.

* * *

The woman stood at Sisko's office window, staring out into space. Behind her, Sisko and the rest of the senior staff, sans Bashir and O'Brien, stood in a loose semi-circle, waiting for her to speak.

"I always loved space," she said finally. Her voice was light in tone, yet heavy in emotion. "When I was little, my sister and I would stare up at the stars and wonder if we would ever travel to them someday."

She sighed and turned to face the officers. "And now she is dead and I am damned to this life of eternal youthfulness."

She sighed again.

"It all started back when I was barely into my teens. Back on Colonna…"

* * *

On a hilltop, two girls lay on their backs, chatting and occasionally pointing at the black night sky.

"Look, Mashi, there's another one!" squealed her older sister.

Mashi rolled her eyes. Avi was two cycles older than Mashi, but that didn't prevent the girl from acting younger than her little sister.

"Yes, Avi, that's why it's called a meteor shower," said Mashi, talking to her sister like she was two.

Avi sighed. "You don't have to be so sarcastic about it." The exited tone was gone from her voice and now she was playing with her waist-length pink hair. She looked at her sister with sad violet eyes. "I'm going away to university soon and then we won't see each other for three years. Three years!"

Mashi was about to retort when she shivered. "Avi, did you feel that?"

Avi shrugged. "Probably just the temperature dropping."

Mashi shook her head. "I don't think so." She sniffed the air. "And I don't think I've ever smelled that sweet scent before."

"Smart little ones, they are," said a low, flowing voice.

Instantly, the two girls were up and back to back. Neither possessed any weapons, but weren't willing to back down in surrender.

"Ah, look, the little ones want to fight," said one man, who appeared out of a gaseous cloud. He smiled at the girls, revealing longer than normal canine teeth.

"Yes, yes, Niko, don't scare them so much," said another man. He too appeared out of a white cloud, but was gaunter than his companion. "After all, prey tastes so much better when it's not spoiled."

The girls backed away as the strange, evil men approached them.

"Mashi, run," muttered Avi. "Find Mom and Dad."

"What about you?" whispered Mashi.

Avi gritted her teeth. "Don't worry about me. Just run."

With that, Avi picked up her long staff that she carried with her to beat off foreign animals and swung at one of the men, while Mashi turned and started running.

"Oi! Here's an idea! Pick on somebody your own size."

"Niko, don't just stand there, get the other one!" growled the gaunt one, as he fended off Avi's attack.

'Niko' smirked, then turned into the cloud of white gas that he had appeared from and started pursuing Mashi.

Mashi blindly tore through the forest, crying, and only stopped when she ran into something mostly solid.

"Aw, you poor child," murmured Niko. He stroked her cheek as she struggled to get away. He bent his head toward her neck and she felt her skin break.

"Get away from my daughter!"

She had not realized it, but had come within a few meters of the house. Mashi's father ran out, his army phaser aimed at the vampire. Niko tried to grab Mashi, but she slipped from his grasp and ran behind her father for safety.

"Where's Avi?" screamed her father. Her mother hugged Mashi tightly.

There was a feeling of coldness in the air and a white cloud appeared and resolved into another man, this one carrying Avi's lifeless body. He flung the pale corpse carelessly onto the ground.

"You know what, Niko, I don't think I've had a better meal in a long time," said the man, grinning at Mashi's family. His mouth shone red with Avi's blood.

"You–" Mashi's father fired the phaser and Avi's murderer actually stepped back and hissed in pain as the energy weapon's beam passed through his body. Niko stared coldly at his weaker partner, and then looked at the girl.

"I'll be back someday to finish what I started, child," he said, his body dissolving into nothingness. "One day." And he was gone.

His partner hissed in pain, but also dissolved.

The cold in the air dissolved, but Mashi still felt it. She shivered as her parents led her inside, where she promptly collapsed.

* * *

Mashi stared at the assembled officers. Each of them had varying degrees of horror on their faces. Sisko's was hidden beneath the surface, while Kira's was openly displayed. Odo's face held a mixture of sorrow and pity. Dax had a few tears running down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away, leaning against her husband, whose face showed only disgust, but not aimed at her, she could tell. Mashi continued.

"My parents took me to see the best doctors on the planet. When they diagnosed me as a dead girl walking, they didn't believe them. The first time I partially stepped in the sun and my foot burned clean through, they denied it, saying it must've been an unforeseen side effect. Of course, my foot healed up, but it was the first time I was hungry for blood that they actually believed the doctors."

* * *

She was hiding in the shadows of the old _kao_ tree at the rear of the school grounds, just like she did every day at recess. She had eaten the lunch her parents had sent her, but she still felt a gnawing in her stomach.

It was then that a trio of unruly boys decided that Mashi would make an excellent target for bullying.

"Hey, Mashi, whatcha doing?" one with bright blue hair and matching blue eyes smirked.

"Nothing," she muttered, twitching her hood closer to her face, hoping the boys would go away.

"But Mashi, we want to play," said another, this one with deep red hair and forest green eyes. "_Now_."

But it was the third boy, with yellow hair and silver eyes, who made the mistake of grabbing her arm. Instantly, she was bent over him, her hood still covering her face. The boy quivered in terror at the suddenly blood red eyes and the lengthened canines. But the incident was over as soon as it had begun. She backed off from the boy, retreating back to her spot under the tree's heaviest boughs. Just as quickly, the boy leapt up and ran for the school building. The other two took one look at Mashi and tore after him.

* * *

There was silence as Mashi finished her childhood tale.

"In that one instance, I felt like all I wanted in the world was his blood. I've managed to keep it under control by injecting myself with a serum with a small amount of blood mixed in when the hunger strikes."

And indeed, in a small satchel were six small vials, filled with varying colors of blood, preserved with a miniature stasis field. There were also about a dozen yellow serum bottles, ready to be prepped at any time, along with a few other devices of non-Federation origin.

"For over a century, this has been my routine. Find blood, mix the serum, stay out of the sun, and find Niko to kill him. I know I shall never be released from this eternal life, but at least I could take him out, to keep him from infecting others." She caressed the vials. "The two reds are the most recent, I picked them up on Bajor. You'd be amazed how much each vial costs." She snorted. "Bajorans act like blood's about to run out. No offense to present company, of course," she said, nodding at Kira.

"None taken," she returned.

"The green's Vulcan, but I learned the hard way that even a little bit makes me sick. But I wanted to resell it quickly, and not waste my money, so I kept it. One of the blue's Bolian, the other Andorian. Quite exotic, actually. And the black is Cardassian. I actually got that from a murder scene the other day. Scared off the perp and scooped up some of the blood from the body before the authorities arrived. And yes, I checked it for infections and stuff. It was clean, except for a high cholesterol level. The man did love his _kanar_." This last part was said to Bashir, who had walked in on the description of the last vial.

Bashir looked tired, but still managed to stay on his feet as his delivered his report.

"The Doctor's fine, but still out cold. His system was addled, but nothing permanent. His body temperature's still lower than human levels, but I can safely say that it's probably because of his species more than the attack. His synapse and hemoglobin levels are–"

"Excuse me," Mashi interrupted. "But did you just say 'The Doctor'?" There was a strange expression on the young woman's face, something like awe.

"Yes," said Bashir slowly.

"Are you sure? Just 'the Doctor'? Appeared in a blue box?"

Sisko raised an inquiring eyebrow. "The point?"

She grinned, a slightly disturbing idea, as her teeth shone brightly. "He's a Time Lord! My race thought his race was extinct. For millennia actually." She ran a hand through her lime-green locks. "This is brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

She leaned forward slightly, as if to tell something on a "need-to-know" basis.

"The Doctor's a legend wound through space and time. At some point, he has appeared on every planet at some time. And I'm not saying that in an exaggerated way, it's true. He was there when First Contact between Vulcans and your species happened, yet also appeared in the past, like when he appeared on my planet and stopped an alien invasion. Always the Doctor, with different faces, but with the same blue box that is there one moment, then disappears the next."

Worf spoke up. "The legend of Kahless said that there was two non-Klingons at one of the battles against Kahless's wicked brother, Morath, but that they fought like warriors. While Kahless fought his brother, the strange man took down several of Kahless's adversaries with a device that emitted high-pitched noises, while his female companion expertly wielded a ___bat'leth_." He grinned, somehow managing not to look terrifying. "They were given honorary Klingon status for helping Kahless."

Both of Sisko's eyebrows were now raised in surprise. "What did this Doctor and his companion look like?"

Jadzia jumped in. "According to the scrolls of Kahless, he was brown-haired, thin, wore a brown pinstripe suit with a light brown overcoat. Oh, and a pair of light colored old-earth sneakers, what the British called Converses. His companion was a red-headed woman from Earth, and from her dress, the early 21st century. She evidentially picked up on the Klingon, ah, speech pattern rather quickly."

"You seem to know a lot about those scrolls," said Mashi. "Yet you're not Klingon. How?"

Jadzia blushed lightly. "My previous host was a fanatic of all things Klingon and he passed that on to me."

Now it was Mashi's turn to blink and stare at Jadzia absurdly. "Host?"

Jadzia grinned. "I'm Jadzia. This," she said, pointing to her abdominal pouch, "is Dax. I'm the eighth host of the Dax symbiont, who's over three hundred years old." She grinned. "Curzon was my previous host and Ben Sisko's best friend, and thus mine since I, personally, met him."

The look on Mashi's face was priceless. There was surprise, mixed in with a bit of awe, and of course, the usual curiosity of how her species could do that.

"I will _have_ to look up your species later on," she muttered.

Sisko turned to Bashir. "You were saying, Doctor?"

Bashir started. "Oh. His synapse and hemoglobin levels are rising, and I suspect that the synapse activity will continue to rise. He should be awake in about two hours."

Of course, the comm system chose that moment to activate.

"_Doctor to Sisko. Oh, great _Rassilon_, I feel like I got hit with a sledgehammer. Or maybe a jackhammer. Either way, _some_ kind of hammer hit me. Does someone want to tell me _what_ in the name of the Untempered Schism is going on 'round here? Besides me head, of course. Ugh…"_

* * *

Of course I couldn't kill off the Doctor! Where would be the fun in that? But at least now you know Mashi's background. These OCs are the first I've really defined, made round instead of flat, having depth instead of just _being_ there.

As for that little bit of information about the Doctor and Donna, well, I'm hoping that little bit will come in later. Way later. Er…as in a oneshot spinoff that could _possibly_ lead into a sequel. But _please_ don't bug me, 'cause I've got another story to finish up before I even begin thinking about a sequel.

For the name hints, the words "Orsini" and "Colonna" come from the same source. It is also Italian. I hope that helps.

Thanks to my few reviewers. I'm glad someone's enjoying it:

Houseaholic88, Kyer, nazgulslayer, and ann no aku.

So, after I finish up _25 Ways to Prank Snape_, I'll come back to this, finish it up, then work on my last story. To any _PRA2_ readers reading this, I promise I'm gonna have the next chapter up ASAP after the other two are done.

So, please review. It would make me feel better. (_puppy_ _eyes_) Please?


	10. The Past Revisited

Chapter X: The Past Revisited

"History teaches everything, even the future."  
–Alphonse de Lamartine–

In Sickbay, the Doctor was trying to keep the room from spinning, while Sisko stood imposingly near with his staff around him. Mashi hung in a corner away from the bright lights. Even the small amount of UV in the lights gave her a headache.

"Do you mind telling me what you were thinking when you confronted the Orsini?"

Sisko's voice was calm, collected, but definitely furious. Involuntarily, the Doctor winced as Sisko's voice cut through his head.

"Would you mind not talking so loud?" whispered the Doctor. "I feel like I've got a hangover."

Sisko glared at him before continuing. "Why didn't you get back in the turbolift? You knew the creature was somewhere nearby but you went after it anyway."

The Doctor shrugged. "My safety wasn't as important as theirs."

Sisko sighed and pinched his nose. "That's not the point."

"You're right, that's not," agreed the Doctor. "The real point is, why did the Orsini feel confident enough to come out into the open?"

Mashi chose that moment to interject, saving the Doctor from further interrogation.

"Perhaps the creature is strong enough that he believed that he could attack a Time Lord. He evidentially knows quite a bit about your species."

"Right," said the Doctor, glad to change the focus of the topic. "So, we know _what_ he is. Is there any way we could defeat him before he has another go at someone?"

"I've been reviewing Mashi's medical records," said Bashir, "and I think a concentrated blast of ultraviolet radiation would neutralize him."

"Permanently?" asked the Doctor. His eyes were twin orbs of steel.

"Doctor," said Sisko warningly.

"Captain, if we don't kill this thing, then it'll slaughter everyone it comes in contact with. No planet or star system will be safe from it. We'll save millions, if not billions, by killing this thing here and now." He turned his attention back to Bashir. "Well?"

Bashir shifted nervously. "Maybe. We _are_ dealing with an entity that hasn't been seen in over a hundred years. The last one was killed by an antimatter blast."

"When?" asked Dax.

"On STARDATE 3619.2," responded Bashir promptly, beginning to recite what happened as if he were a computer, but with more emotion. "The Starship _Enterprise_, captained by James T. Kirk, sent down a landing team to a planet to search for tritanium deposits. There, they encountered a gaseous vampiric entity that the captain had encountered eleven years before when he served on the _USS_ _Farragut_ under Captain Garrovick. The creature boarded the _Enterprise_, killing two crewmen and when it tried to attack Commander Spock, the first officer, it got a taste of Spock's Vulcan blood. Disgusted, the creature fled the ship and the _Enterprise_ pursued it all the way to Tycho IV. Kirk, along with Ensign Garrovick, Captain Garrovick's son as it so happened, set a trap, using hemoglobin to lure it in. They exploded antimatter on the surface just as they beamed up. The creature was believed to have been destroyed.

"Commander Spock had theorized that the creature could not only conceal itself and pass through solid matter, but also move through space and time as well and was able to voluntarily control its molecular structure, but this was never proven nor disproved. As it stands, the creature was believed to have been destroyed and no subsequent searches were ever filed."

The Doctor stared at Bashir like he had grown a second head.

"And I thought I had a gob at times," he muttered under his breath.

There was a short burst of laughter from everyone, even Odo, before silence reigned in Sickbay again. It was Worf who said the next words.

"It would not be prudent to detonate an antimatter bomb inside the space station."

Sisko nodded in agreement. "Yes, I would not enjoy telling Starfleet command that the only Federation link between the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants was destroyed."

More would have been said, but the commlink came alive.

"_D'Rhea to Constable Odo,_" came a woman's voice, one of Odo's Bajoran security guards. "_There's been another murder_."

* * *

D'Rhea tapped her foot as she waited for Odo to show. She knew the shapeshifter would show, that it took time to get from Ops to a little closed-up side area in the Promenade. In the meantime, she contemplated the body in front of her.

He was a good-looking Bajoran, probably in his early thirties at the most, but with what this planet had suffered through, he might have been younger. She did know he was assigned to one of the ships that came and went from the station to the planet below. She also knew that he tended to gamble away anything he earned at the Dabo table for one chance of getting lucky or else drink up his last paycheck when nightmares of the Occupation hit a little too close to home.

She was brought back to reality when she heard Odo's footsteps. Behind him was a woman swathed in a brown cloak, her footsteps making no noise on the Promenade floor.

"Report, D'Rhea," Odo snapped out.

"I was walking by when I noticed a mist leaking out of a hole in a previously boarded up area." She motioned to the half-filled bottle of alcohol on the ground next to the body. "I can only surmise that this man was lured by the sight of the bottle and the attacker was lying in wait, figuring eventually someone who wanted a free drink would come by eventually."

Odo nodded and investigated the spot, shining a UV-palmlight into the area, which cast a light purple glow over the area. It was dusty, except for the footprints of the man, the body itself, and the circular impression of the bottom of the bottle. A vole or two skittered away from the light, but other than that, it appeared to be empty.

"Well, it's not here anymore," said Odo, stepping back out onto the Promenade.

"Sir, what was it? And why would it not care about who it murdered?"

Odo looked at the mostly Bajoran woman standing before him. She was in her early forties, according to her file, but her appearance, like many other Bajorans, was older. Her onyx-black hair had thin lines of silver delicately threaded throughout and her quick dark eyes, just barely surrounded by the telltale Cardassian eye-rings, were constantly calculating the best way of escape, even in friendly environments. A result of being in the Resistance and making split-second decisions in life-and-death battles, especially when your mother was the result of one of the first Cardassian rapes at the beginning of the Occupation, and thus, until proven trustworthy, you were a target.

"It was a creature," said Mashi abruptly but quietly. Only Odo and D'Rhea could hear her words. "A creature that, if it is allowed to remain on this station, will wreak more havoc than a thousand Founders."

D'Rhea went whiter than her usual pale expression, while Odo glared at Mashi. She met his gaze defiantly. She had already died at the hands of that creature; next to him, Odo was nothing. Finally, Odo turned back to the D'Rhea.

"D'Rhea, as of this moment, this murder is classified. I need to you to lead an organized evacuation of the Promenade and get everyone back to their quarters. If anyone questions these orders, tell them to take it up with me later. Got it?"

The security officer nodded once, then turned on her heel and disappeared into the crowd.

"And as for you–" said Odo, turning back to Mashi, but she was already gone. Odo swore under his breath in Bajoran before calling Sisko.

* * *

Sisko was still in sickbay with Dr. Bashir when the call from Odo came through about Mashi disappearing. He sighed and pinched his nose.

"Very well, Constable. Sisko out." He turned his attention to Bashir. "What have you got for me?"

Bashir looked up from his microscope. News of this latest murder had pushed the young man even more toward finding the cause of this form of vampirism. Finally, he could give Sisko a full explanation.

"When Mashi brought the Doctor into Sickbay, his body chemistry was being altered by a virus that, without the anti-virus she injected into him, would have turned him into a creature similar to her. The virus itself is transmitted through saliva into an open wound. Hence, the long canines to puncture the skin. The virus adapts itself to the host, changing it so that the host can survive under radical, almost apocalyptic, circumstances."

"Could it have, in fact, survived an antimatter blast?"

"Captain, not even a _cockroach_ could survive an antimatter blast, let alone a virus. Antimatter obliterates anything and everything. Being at the center of the blast, Kirk and Garrovick were lucky their molecules weren't scrambled over half the quadrant when they beamed up.

"I also took a blood sample from Mashi and bombarded it with ultraviolet radiation. The virus-laden red blood cells instantly crumbled in on themselves. It looks like that part of the legend is true, at least."

Sisko nodded in approval. "I'll see if Odo and Dax can build a neutralizing device with the Doctor's help," said Sisko, gazing at the virus on the screen in morbid fascination. "Forward all your information to him."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Some two hours later, O'Brien handed Sisko a small, rectangular object, about a foot long and four inches wide and an inch thick, inlayed with blinking lights and a display currently saying "disabled" in green lettering. Dax was on one side of O'Brien's side; the Doctor, the other. Odo was next to Sisko's desk, also studying the device.

"What is it?"

"It's a bomb, sir, that hasn't been activated yet."

"Ah, I feel better."

O'Brien scowled. "It's just about like a normal bomb, except this explodes with the force of a very small yellow sun."

"Sounding ultraviolet radiation everywhere," said the Doctor.

"Well, yes. Mind you, wherever this goes off, if there's anyone else besides the Orsini, they'll suffer severe radiation burns."

"And what of Niko?" asked Mashi, who had appeared suddenly out of the shadows, making everyone jump. She reached out a hand and gingerly stroked the device.

"He'll burn to a crisp," said O'Brien. "If you're in the room, it'll do the same to you."

"It has a delay of ten seconds," supplied Dax. "Set it and run."

"But how do we trap it long enough to set it?" asked Sisko. "It will only turn to gas when we use phasers against it."

"That's my part," said Kira. "I'll be the bait to lure it in."

"And since the creature can only harm organic-based life-forms and the blast won't hurt me, I can trap the Orsini in a bubble and just before it explodes, release him and protect the Major," added Odo.

Sisko nodded in approval. "Doctor, you'll be watching with me. When the Orsini goes down, then we'll move in. No arguments," he added as the Doctor looked ready to object. "Very well. From this point on, we are on silent red alert. Operation Bad Wolf is now in effect."

* * *

Okay, so I just _couldn't_ resist that last bit. This is a pre-season 1 story, after all. (_Grin_) I do apologize for not getting this up sooner. We were hit with Tropical Storm Fay this morning, so getting on the internet was not the best thing to do at the time. Well, that and I didn't get up until almost 3 in the afternoon. (_Shrug_)

The next chapter will be a little while, as it is only a little over half written. The last chapter is almost complete, though. I have come up with a little addition that, once I finish writing it in my mind, will be typed up as well. The story will be finished by Labor Day, though, I hope. (_Crosses_ _fingers_)

Thanks to my own little fantastic four for reviewing:

Houseaholic88, Kyer, nazgulslayer, ann no aku, and DragonFlame27.

Please review, it lets me know that someone out there is reading this story and enjoying it. Thanks.


	11. Sacrifice

Chapter XI: Sacrifice

"Death is the one thing that connects us all. It reminds us that what's really important is who we've touched, how much we've given. It makes us realize that we have to be good to one another."  
–Peter Petrelli–  
–_Heroes_–

The Promenade was deserted. Even Quark's was shut down, but a quick glace showed that the Ferengi hadn't deserted his bar, but was watching through a narrow slit, his beady eyes taking in everything. Later on, it would be likened to an old West town when a gunfight was about to happen. All that was missing was the dried up tumbleweed rolling past.

The crew was stationed at different parts along the predetermined path, but it was Kira who was acting the part of the bait. She slowly stepped past Dax, hiding behind a _jumja_ stand.

"Ahhh, so they sent the Bajoran in as bait."

Kira whirled around, pointing her phaser at Niko, who had appeared from nowhere. He chuckled.

"Really, what is the point of pointing phasers at me? You know I can just phase right through them."

As if to prove his point, he turned into gas and in the blink of an eye was next to Kira.

"Now, shall I kill you slowly or quickly?"

"How about neither?" said Kira, holding up a small device in her other hand. Closing her eyes, she pressed a button on the UV-palmlight and a brilliant flash of excruciating light momentarily blinded Niko.

He growled, his skin healing unnaturally fast, and as soon as he could see again, he saw her disappear into the 'lift. With a roar of outrage, he turned into his gaseous form and pursued.

* * *

Kira was breathing heavily. It had been a while since she had run at top speed. Gasping, she activated her comm. badge.

"This is Little Red Riding Hood. The Big Bad Wolf is in pursuit."

"Copy that, Little Red," came Sisko's voice.

Kira shook her head. Figures that Sisko would use an old Earth fairy tale as a basis for code names. She wondered why he had chosen that particular one. Next time she saw him, she would ask.

The doors opened and she ran. She risked a glance behind her and saw a gas spilling out of the turbolift that gracefully resolved into Niko, who continued to pursue her at a moderate pace. She skidded into a nearby cargo bay, her heart thumping madly. Spotting a large container, she ducked behind it just as the doors opened again.

"Come here, my little Bajoran," he sang, strolling into the cargo bay. "You're trapped."

Kira didn't answer, but drew out the little bomb. She pressed a series of buttons, but just before she hit the last one, the one that would activate the device and signal Odo, she felt a hand grab her neck. Surprised, she made a choking sound.

"Hello, little one," he hissed, his grip tightening further.

"Drop her, Niko!" called a voice.

Odo's pseudo-complexion was paler than normal, his hands tightened into fists. He was almost trembling in fury.

"Well, well, so now the little shapeshifter comes out to play."

"I mean it," growled Odo. "Or–"

"Or _what_? You'll _choke_ me to death?" Niko mocked. His grip on Kira's neck tightened even more. Her eyes rolled back in her head as the oxygen was cut off from her brain and she fainted. With a thump, the bomb fell to the floor, but didn't go off.

Odo was caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, Kira would die, but the Orsini would too. On the other, if he backed off, Niko would let Kira go.

Duty or…dare he think it?…love.

He made his choice.

As Odo stepped forward, though, a bolt of electricity ran through him, causing him to lose his form for a moment.

Niko shook his smoking hand. "Shame about that. I only get one shot off. That's the purpose of the synaptic drain, by the way, a kind of stunner so my prey doesn't fight back." He grinned. "But in your case, it seems that it does a little more than that." He noticed the bomb at Kira's feet. "How primitive," he commented, before kicking it to the side.

Odo groaned. The electric charge was destabilizing his form, forcing his shape to give. He had to get away, to let his form slip into a puddle of goo in privacy. But he couldn't leave Kira alone. Groaning, he stretched out toward her.

"You want this?" asked Niko, with the air of an owner teasing his dog with a treat. "Get her."

He let Kira go, Odo catching her head just before she hit the ground.

"Hey, you."

Niko whirled around, only to get a punch in the jaw. He was knocked back on the ground, his lower lip split, oozing dark blood. He spat, the blood making a hissing noise as it hit the deck.

"Get her out of here," Mashi ordered Odo. "Now."

Barely able to hold himself together and carry Kira's heavy weight at the same time, Odo did so.

* * *

Above the cargo bay, Sisko, the Doctor, Bashir, O'Brien and Worf were watching, Bashir scrambling out with his emergency medical kit to treat Kira.

Unable to interfere, the Doctor clenched and unclenched his hands as he watched the showdown between Mashi and Niko unfold.

* * *

They circled each other like a pair of dogs, determined not to make the first move.

"So, what do you plan on doing to me, Mashi darling? I am, after all, more skilled at this. Thousands of years compared to your, what, a hundred? You've barely _started_ to explore the power in you."

She growled deep in her throat. "I am going to kill you, Niko. I don't care if I die in the process. You will not hurt anybody else."

"I'm hurt, child, that you have not given in to the Lust. But, as I said, you are young. Had you had millennia to explore your full potential, you could have been very powerful indeed."

She shook her head. "If I have to sacrifice myself and others to obtain power, what good is it in the end? I would have rather died that day with my sister, but I did not. And now I know why."

From behind her back, she withdrew the bomb that Niko had so foolishly kicked to the side.

"I was meant to kill you."

* * *

In that instance, the Doctor understood. She had come to this station to find Niko and by working with the DS9 officers and himself, she had found the perfect way to destroy Niko and end her own eternal torment.

Ignoring Sisko's calls, he ran toward the cargo bay.

* * *

For the first time, Niko's face showed fear. Mashi smirked.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you?" she taunted.

"Foolish child!" he spat. "You destroy me, you destroy the key to immortality."

She shook her head. "Immortality's not worth this half-life."

She pressed the final button.

* * *

The Doctor reached the cargo bay and was about to press the controls to open the doors just as the UV bomb exploded. The shock wave of the explosion, even through the cargo doors, threw him back as slivers of ultraviolet pierced the unsealed doors. For a moment, the Doctor felt like he was back on Gallifrey as the doomed planet exploded under his feet. A few seconds later, the light shut off, leaving the dazed Doctor panting, with first-degree burns on his exposed skin.

The slap of the medical kit opening and the concerned beeps of the tricorder brought him back to DS9.

"Is she–?" he asked Bashir.

"If you mean Kira, she's fine," said Bashir distractedly as he began applying a cream to the Doctor's hands and face. He felt the pain relieve immediately as the cream set to work repairing the slight burns. "Odo too, once he has had a regeneration period of no less than 24 hours."

The Doctor could tell Bashir didn't want to mention Mashi, but he had to know. Ignoring Bashir's efforts to keep him still, he pushed the controls to open the cargo bay doors.

The acrid stench of burning flesh met his senses. His eyes streaming, he sought out where he had seen the two standing from his position above.

He found their skeletal remains laid out, the remnants of the bomb still clutched in Mashi's blackened hands. It looked like Niko had tried to run at the last moment, as his body had fallen in a twisted position, the face frozen in a snarl.

Mashi, though, appeared to have accepted death. Her mouth was curved into a peaceful smile, but as the Doctor tried to close her eyelids in respect, the skull collapsed into dust, quickly followed by the rest of her body, leaving only a vague outline.

The Doctor couldn't stand it. Another death on his conscience. He stood up quickly, resolving to leave as soon as possible, before more death followed here in his wake.

But first, he had one more thing to do on the station.

* * *

"Finish it up by _Labor_ _Day_," I said. "At the _latest_," I said. Then what happens? That most-loathed enemy of authors strikes again! Writers' block. Gah, I hope I didn't torture you too much by waiting so long. Almost two weeks past the due date! Bright side, the last chapter is (mostly) typed up, only needs a little polishing and an extra scene or two I want to cram in there, and then this story will be done. Note to self: Do the Donna vs. Klingons one-shot sometime soon.

To my ever so patient reviewers:

Houseaholic88, Kyer, nazgulslayer, ann no aku, and DragonFlame27.

So, as I said, once I polish off the last chapter, I'll post it. Perhaps at the end of the week. All my professors have decided that the tests should be this upcoming week. _Great_! (_Hits keyboard with head repeatedly_) _Not_!

So, please review. I know from my reader traffic that I have a lot of people at least _looking _at the story. I do appreciate the few reviews I have gotten, but my muses are starving. DT has had to lock himself up because Cassi's starting to chew on stuff. So please, review for the sake of my muses before I find one missing or hogtied with an apple in his mouth. (_Thinks about that last_ _one_) Although…hee, hee, naughty thoughts, _very_ naughty thoughts.

_Anyway_, back to what I was saying. Last chapter within the week, lots of reviews, please, and I will see you even sooner.

-MM


	12. Epilogue

Chapter XII: Epilogue

"Only the journey's written, not the destination."  
–Ardeth Bay–  
–_The Mummy Returns_–

Keiko stepped onto deep red grass, Molly at her side. Kirayoshi was with his father today. Overhead, the burnt orange sky cast a glowing amber tone on a futuristic castle ensconced in a transparent bubble in the distance as the dual suns set on opposite horizons. Around her, trees with silvery leaves beckoned her to approach and rest under their boughs, but she ignored their calls. Ahead of her, she could see a familiar figure standing on a hilltop, who turned to face her as she came up beside him.

"Welcome to my planet," the Doctor said, with a touch of irony in his tone.

"It's beautiful," she breathed.

Molly tugged on her hand. "Mommy, can I go play with the other children?"

Keiko started, but glanced down the hill, where indeed a handful of children were playing at the base, glancing every once in a while up at the odd threesome. She nodded and let Molly go.

"I never got the chance to say thank you," she said once Molly was out of earshot. "So, thank you."

The Doctor smiled sadly. "It's not very often I get a thank you. Mostly it's shoot first, ask questions never."

There was quiet for a moment; then the Doctor spoke.

"I had to barter my bar of latinum to Quark as payment for as long as I wanted this holosuite," he said, slightly awkward. "Gouging little troll. But this was worth it. It took me an hour to clean up the emitters and another to design the program."

"Where's your home?" asked Keiko.

He smiled at her. "My childhood home centuries ago was on that mountain over there, just behind the Citadel of the Time Lords." He tilted his head in the direction of a southern mountain range behind the Citadel that was covered with red grass, peaked with white snow. "My father was a Time Lord on his last regeneration and wanted a true family, not a child spun of a genetic loom, but the natural way. My mother was a curious human who stayed by his side until she died before I had hit my hundred year mark."

Keiko's jaw dropped. That meant the Doctor was "half human?" The last part was said aloud.

The Doctor smiled grimly and nodded. "Yes. But I was allowed to enter the Time Lord Academy at the oh-so-long ago age of eight and become a Time Lord because my father had been one. When my first regeneration happened, the human DNA was wiped clean, almost. I still kept a few of my mother's tendencies, such as not being able to sit still for a long time and an uncanny desire to explore the universe, correct wrongs when I came upon them, mostly on Earth, which got me exiled once or twice. After all" – he swept his arms wide for emphasis – "that's how humans got all the way across the galaxy! Always seeking out new worlds and new civilizations. And it always amazed me how, even when thwarted again and again, humanity continues to persist, continues to explore, continues to wonder at what the galaxy has to offer. Continues to survive at everything that crosses its path, despite the odds."

Keiko smiled and nodded, her eyes twinkling. "Three world wars, the Eugenic Wars, not to mention the Romulan-Federation war of the 22nd century and the possibility of war with the Dominion. Not to mention the Borg's unrelenting perseverance on assimilating us into their collective. Yes, I can see how you would think us persistent little buggers."

They both smiled and watched as Molly played with the Gallifreyan children.

"So, is there a holographic version of your child down there?"

The Doctor nodded. "My granddaughter, actually. Susan." He pointed the dark-haired girl out, who was currently engaged in a complicated game of some sort with Molly, who, noticing her mother's stare, ran back up the gentle embankment to Keiko, hugged her, then threw her arms around the Doctor's legs.

"You promised me a look in your ship," she said stubbornly, her bottom lip in a pout. "Susan said it's bigger on the inside."

The Doctor laughed, the first true laugh he had uttered since he had fled his burning planet. Since Mashi had died defeating Niko.

"Computer, save program to datarod as 'Gallifrey One' and end program"

A beep, then a seductive female voice: "_Program saved; please remove your datarod and thank you for visiting Quark's. Come back again soon._"

The Doctor simply raised an eyebrow at the tone, while Keiko laughed and Molly stared in bemusement at the adults.

Molly spent the rest of the day running around the TARDIS, and when her mother carried her out, she was fast asleep.

The Doctor watched Keiko hold the child in her arms with a heavy sadness in his hearts. He longed to hold his great-granddaughter in his arms, but knew that the babe was safer with her father than him. Susan had done right in not informing the Council that she had had a child with David Campbell. The girl would grow up human, at least, Susan having performed the Essence Container as soon after she was born. When the Time War had started, Susan had been recalled to Gallifrey and the Doctor assumed she had died along with everyone else. Her child would never know her alien heritage, unless she stumbled across the Container and opened it.

The Doctor sighed. It was time to leave.

* * *

After walking Keiko to her quarters and saying his goodbyes to the O'Brien clan, he returned to the TARDIS, where he found Sisko, Dax, Worf, Kira, and Odo standing outside, waiting for him.

"Sure you don't want to stick around?" asked Kira. "We could use your help if the Dominion decides to invade."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, I've got to move on. I don't like to stay in one spot for too long." He held out his hand and Sisko stood and shook it. "Besides, I think your Prophets will help out if the situation calls for it."

"They _do_ seem to have a real knack for doing that sort of thing," admitted Sisko.

The Doctor turned to the women. "I reckon neither of you want to come along." It wasn't a question.

"I'm afraid not this time either, Doctor," said Dax. She smiled anyway. "Perhaps once the threat of war with the Dominion's over with, I could travel with you a bit."

The Doctor smiled. "Perhaps."

He turned to Kira, who also shook her head no. "I've got responsibilities, Doctor, I can't leave this station without its Bajoran representative."

"I understand completely, Major."

Worf grunted. "I do not think it would be appropriate for me to join you, Doctor. I would stand out in any crowd on any planet, especially on pre-warp Earth."

The Doctor nodded. "I completely understand, Mr. Worf. But I wish you success in the future. I have a feeling you're going to need it."

Worf grinned toothily and shook the Doctor's hand. "_Qapla' _to you as well, Doctor."

He grinned back and turned to Odo, who also shook his head.

"I must decline, Doctor. With war on the horizon, I'll be needed here to keep everything in line."

The Doctor smirked, his eyes flicking to Kira for a moment before going back to Odo. "I'm sure you will."

If the security chief had blood, the Doctor was sure Odo's face would've turned red from embarrassment. He leaned into to whisper into Odo's pseudo-ear.

"And whatever you do, don't let her down."

Startled, Odo nodded and stepped back.

Finally, only Sisko remained. "Well, Captain, it's been a blast."

"That's one way of putting it," admitted Sisko. He smiled back. "Are you sure you're going to be all right?"

The Doctor smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be back someday."

And with that, he took out his key and unlocked the TARDIS. Just before he stepped in, he turned to them.

"You'll like this part."

He stepped inside and shut the door. The DS9 crew backed away as the engines started heaving and groaning, the light on top flashing as the box flickered in and out of existence. Once it had gone, Sisko turned to face his crew.

"I hope he finds peace," sighed Dax.

"You're not the only one, Old Man," said Sisko.

* * *

Elsewhere in the station, a message came through for Kira Nerys on a secure channel from a Cardassian named Tekeny Ghemor, urgently requesting a response from her.

And in Quark's, a furious Ferengi waved his hands to clear the smoke from his burned computer when he had tried to access confidential files related to the Doctor, thanks to Captain Jack Harkness's appropriately named "HotDoc" virus.

* * *

The Doctor walked around the TARDIS controls, caressing her gently. She thrummed happily under his touch, glad to have her Time Lord back on board.

"Now, where shall we–?"

But before he could finish his sentence, a bright white light surrounded him. When it faded, he was no longer inside the TARDIS, but somewhere else, somewhere where all he could hear was the double beats of his hearts.

_Thu-thump-thu-thump_.

"Hello?"

_Thu-thump-thu-thump_.

"Hello?"

_Thu-thump-thu-thump_.

"Hel-_lo-o_!?"

Okay, now he was starting to get annoyed.

"He is troubled."

The voice startled him. He whirled around to see…

"Susan?"

His granddaughter stood there, but not as he had last seen her. No, this version was when they had first visited Earth in 1963. Beside her was–

"Ian? Barbara?"

His granddaughter's school teachers regarded him with blank expressions.

"He does not understand," said "Ian."

"He is lost," concurred "Barbara."

"Aye, he blames himself for the immortal's end," came the rough brogue of James McCrimmon.

"He blames himself for so many deaths," observed "Sarah Jane," "yet, he is responsible for so few."

"Affirmative," piped up "K9."

Another woman appeared, her form shifting back and forth as though the apparition could not decide which body to appear in.

"The Emissary has taught us that life is fragile and requires balance," said "Romana," her voice altering between incarnations.

Behind her were Tegan and Nyssa.

"He believes he has upset the balance," they said in harmony.

Finally, the Doctor realized what was going on. He was seeing the Prophets and they in turn were appearing to him in the forms of people he knew, most when he had first met them. The longer he looked, the more familiar faces he knew, some still alive, others who had died in his name.

"Peri" spoke softly. "But he has not."

"He has restored the balance," added "Ace."

"I don't understand," the Doctor said finally.

"Grace" tilted her head. "Your race fought a war that even we could not see the final result."

"Several outcomes were present, however," remarked "Harry."

"What other results were there?" asked the Doctor, hesitant to ask.

"Kamelion" regarded him with curiosity. "The Daleks may have won and continued to exterminate the universe."

"Liz" and "Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart" glanced at each other before the former spoke up.

"Or a treaty might have been made."

The Doctor scoffed. "A treaty? With Daleks? Hah!"

The "Brigadier" cocked his head. "Really? Is it so impossible?"

The fog cleared and to his surprise, the Doctor saw himself, still in his eighth form, his family standing behind him as he made an announcement.

"Today, we celebrate the end of the Time War before it even began. In exchange for a pocket universe of their own, the Daleks have agreed to cease extermination of all non-Dalek lifeforms. It has been sealed off, even to me. They will no longer threaten Gallifrey or the rest of the universe."

Cheers from an unseen crowd rolled and the alternate Doctor smiled and hugged his family.

The present Doctor started as he felt tears run down his face.

"Please. No more."

The vision disappeared and all was silent except for the sounds of his heartbeats.

"What is done is done," said "Polly," her face somber.

"Time is not easily rewritten, even for us," admitted "Katarina."

"But – does that mean? – could you?–" prodded the Doctor.

All the gathered "companions" shook their head.

"No, we will not change what has happened," said "Adric."

"We _cannot_ change what has happened," emphasized "Mel."

The Doctor felt his hearts crash. No chance at all of saving his family. They were indeed dead, then, without hope of resurrection. He jumped as he felt someone raise his chin, someone who was lit by a supernatural glow so that he could not see the person's face.

"I want you safe. My Doctor…"

The voice was female, comforting. He tried to take the woman's hand, but she dissolved into golden dust.

"You have a far greater destiny to fulfill," said "Leela," absentmindedly fingering her knife. She contemplated it before handing it to the Doctor, who bemusedly accepted it.

"Have no fear though," said "Zoe." "You will return one day."

"And we will be here," promised "Victoria."

The glow returned, brighter than before. The Doctor blinked several times before realizing he was back in the TARDIS. He laughed as he realized he was still holding Leela's knife, which he then pocketed. Unknown to him, the hilt had been inscribed with two small Bajoran words that would resound through time and space.

The Doctor had programmed the TARDIS to find a nearby fuel resource, but instead, it seemed that the cranky old ship had different ideas. As he stepped out, he noticed he was between two clothing stores.

He also noticed that it was nighttime.

On Earth.

_Again_.

He sighed. Why did he always end up back on Earth? An entire universe to choose from and which did the TARDIS _always_ default to?

The odd signal the TARDIS had detected was coming from the one to his immediate left, a clothing shop called _Henrik's_. As he walked, he dug around in his coat and found the backup bomb that he had made from working with the DS9 crew. O'Brien wouldn't be happy that the bomb had disappeared. With a few rewires of the sonic screwdriver, the bomb now exploded normally and not with ultraviolet waves. He tucked it back in his jacket, but kept the screwdriver in his hand.

He looked around and, with a deft flick of his wrist, used the screwdriver to unlock a locked revolving door. He slid in, waving at a passerby, who simply kept on going.

He followed the signal with the sonic device, which led him to a man lying on the floor, his neck at an odd angle. The Doctor didn't have to check his pulse. The man was definitely dead.

He moved on. The signal broke into two signals, one distant large signal far away and a dozen or so smaller signals not too far away. He was considering going for the larger signal when the sonic screwdriver peeped. It had detected a human life sign approaching the smaller signals.

"Stupid apes always getting in the way," he muttered as he opened the door, and shut it behind him, wincing as it slammed with a very loud _BANG!_.

As he moved closer to the signal, the beeping increased. He put the screwdriver away and peeked around the corner, where he found the human life sign.

A blonde girl, still in her teens, was shrinking away from what looked like walking plastic shop dummies. Instantly, the Doctor realized what he was dealing with.

_Autons! And the Nestene Consciousness! But why are they here? The war! Their food planet must've been destroyed in the war and they're after Earth! Typical. _

The girl whimpered, drawing even closer against the wall behind her, and closed her eyes as the closest dummy raised its arm, presumably to kill her the same way it had killed the man.

He reached out and grabbed her hand. She opened her eyes and glanced down at the foreign male hand, then looked up into his eyes.

In that second, it seemed like time stood still. Her brown eyes connected with his gray-blue and for a brief moment, just the barest moment, he found himself speechless. But he managed to recover and say one word. Just one word that would change not only his life, or the life of this small, seemingly insignificant human girl, but would reshape the entire destiny of the universe.

"Run."

_**THE END**_

* * *

Urgh, I think my longest chapter for this story was this one. Honestly, over three thousand words total. (_Shakes head in amazement_) That's, like, a college essay!

First, the sort-of contest. The answer was _The Prince_ by Machiavelli. I got guesses about an Italian family, which was heavily mentioned in the book. Y'all get credit for that, at least. Those would be: Kyer and nazgulslayer. If I missed your name, please correct me. My brain decided to go on vacation before I finished this chapter up.

Second, sequel possibilities. I have another story I am committed to finishing, then probably (and I say this with the most honorable intentions) coming back for a sequel. I definitely need to write that oneshot at some point in time (pun not intended). So, _Prongs Rides Again II_, then a sequel. And the more you bug me, the longer it'll take.

Third, companions mentioned here are all accessible via Wikipedia. I did not mention _all_ the companions, just most of the onscreen ones up to this point. Just as the Prophets take the shape of Sisko's fellow officers when he visits them, so did the Prophets manifest themselves as the Doctor's past companions.

Fourth, (and I know I'm gonna get asked this, so better get it over with now), the words on the knife and its importance. On the first part, just two words: (Donna impression) Well, _duh_! (Back to normal) See, two words? And its importance…well, working on that bit. Maybe it'll be just an extra prop, maybe I'll make a big deal out of it.

To my faithful few. TARDIS-shaped trophies with an endless supply of Tenth Doctor-shaped cookies inside to all of you:

Houseaholic88, Kyer, nazgulslayer, ann no aku, and DragonFlame27.

Well, that's it for now. I sincerely hope you enjoyed this story. If you did and haven't reviewed yet, please leave a review, as this _is_ the last chapter after all.

_But…_

BONUS! Credit chapter coming soon, as soon as I can figure out who I want to play a few more people I had in this story. _Plus_, bloopers, if I can figure out how to screw up my story. (_Winks_) Would love help.

Okie-dokey, be nice and review now! PLEEEEASE?!

–MM


	13. Credits

Credits  
(in order of appearance)

8th Doctor – Paul McGann  
Captain Benjamin Sisko – Avery Brooks  
Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax – Terry Farrell  
Chief of Operations Miles O'Brien – Colm Meaney  
Doctor Julian Bashir – Alexander Siddig  
Major Kira Nerys – Nana Visitor  
Constable Odo – Rene Auberjonois  
Nurse Jabara – Ann Gillespie  
Nurse Bandee – Kate Asner  
Elim Garek – Andrew Robinson  
Q – John de Lancie  
Lady Q – Suzie Plakson  
q – Brett and Nolan  
M'Pella (Dabo Girl) – Cathy Debuono  
Quark – Armin Shimmerman  
Gallifreyan Girl – Scarlett Pomers  
Worf – Michael Dorn  
Ensign John Smith – John Smith  
Molly O'Brien – Hana Hatae  
Keiko O'Brien - Rosalind Chao  
Kirayoshi O'Brien – Unknown  
Mashi – Natalia Tena  
Niko – Alan Rickman  
Avi – Georgia Moffett  
Vampire – Bill Nighy  
Mashi's mom – Unknown  
Mashi's dad – Unknown  
Boy #1 – Unknown  
Boy #2 – Unknown  
Boy #3 – Unknown  
D'Rhea – Juliet Aubrey  
Dead Bajoran man – Adam Campbell  
Computer Voice – Majel Barrett

With Special Guest Appearances By

Susan Foreman – Carole Ann Ford  
Ian Chesterton – William Russell  
Barbara Wright – Jacqueline Hill  
James McCrimmon – Frazer Hines  
Sarah Jane Smith – Elizabeth Sladen  
K9 – voiced by David Brierley  
Romana I – Mary Tamm  
Romana II – Lalla Ward  
Tegan Jovanka – Janet Fielding  
Nyssa of Traken – Sarah Sutton  
Peri Brown – Nicola Bryant  
Ace – Sophie Aldred  
Grace Holloway – Daphne Ashbrook  
Harry Sullivan – Ian Marter  
Kamelion – voiced by Gerald Flood  
Liz Shaw – Caroline John  
Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart – Nicholas Courtney  
Polly – Anneke Wills  
Katarina – Adrienne Hill  
Adric – Matthew Waterhouse  
Melanie "Mel" Bush – Bonnie Langford  
Leela – Louise Jameson  
Zoe Heriot – Wendy Padbury  
Victoria Waterfield – Deborah Watling

_and introducing_

Christopher Eccleston as Doctor Who

_and_

Billie Piper as Rose Tyler

* * *

Stats for _Life After Death_

Chapters: 12  
Words (approx): 24,000+  
Reviews: 26  
Hits: 3,000+  
C2s: 1  
Favorites: 9  
Alerts: 17

* * *

Soundtrack for _Life After Death_

Doctor Who 2005 Soundtrack- 01 Doctor Who Theme (TV)  
Doctor Who 2005 Soundtrack- 03 The Doctor's Theme  
Doctor Who 2005 Closing Theme

* * *

_Doctor Who _(2005) is copyright of the BBC Wales, produced by Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, and Mal Young.

_Star Trek: Deep Space 9 _(1993-1999) is copyright of Rick Berman and Michael Piller. Based on the _Star_ _Trek_ universe by Gene Roddenberry.

Anything I do not own that was written about in this story is copyright of its respective owners.

* * *

The persons and events in this fanfiction are, of course, fictitious, written for the enjoyment of myself and my reviewers. Any similarity to actual events is unintentional. The persons chosen for this story were based on a matching character profile. That is, they were chosen because I believed that, if this had been produced for television, the people profiled here would have filled the roles perfectly. Those that were uncredited, I could not find matches. If you have a match, please feel free to let me know and I will credit accordingly.

Thank you for reading.

–Moony's Metamorphmagus–


	14. Bloopers and a Deleted Scene

_**Life After Death**_ Bloopers

Seven months later and I finally get the bloopers reel up, along with a lone deleted scene. I decided to put this at the tail end of the story instead of making it a standalone thing.

The bloopers are set in script format. Names are the people who played the roles, instead of the roles they actually played. This is why there is a credit chapter right before this, so just in case you don't know who the actors/actresses were, you can go back and see.

The extra scene is set with characters, not cast. This is because it was written, then taken out later.

The lines indicate a scene change. Imagine that high-pitched _beep_-_beep_ sound you hear when you watch a reel on TV or a DVD, along with a brief white flash of light. Hey, it's low budget here. Like, no budget. At all.

Anyway, here you go. Enjoy. Drop a review if you wish; I would appreciate one.

* * *

Head Dalek: You – will – be – ex-ter-mi-nat-ed.

McGann: (_mock-groaning_) Not if you're exterminated first. (_Slams button; nothing_ _happens_) What the–? (_Punches it again; still nothing_) It's not working! (_Laughs_) Stupid props.

* * *

McGann: So, how do I do this regeneration thing again?

Director: Just stand there and throw your arms open and your head back.

McGann: Right. (_Does_ _so_) I feel so stupid. (_Laughs_)

* * *

Eccleston: (_Referring to the post-regeneration outfit of McGann's_) Are these clothes supposed to be this tight? I think it's riding up.

* * *

(_Brett/Nolan found curled up in a corner of the office with "Sisko's" baseball, sound asleep_)

* * *

(_Eccleston slams into Sickbay bathroom door_) Ouch! (_Bleep_!) I'm all right! Let's try that again. (_Murmur off stage_) I was _supposed_ to do that?! Ya coulda warned me!

* * *

(_Visitor walks onto TARDIS set, covered in foodstuffs_) Just to let you know, the TV show next door is having a food fight. (_Picks spaghetti out of hair_)

* * *

(_Siddig is sleeping in the "Sickbay" in a chair; snores; turns to the side and falls off the chair_) I'm awake! Where were we?

* * *

(_During scene break, while navigating out of "station tunnels"_)

Eccleston: Are we there yet?

Meaney: No.

(_10 seconds pass_)

Eccleston: Are we there yet?

Meaney: You're doing that just to annoy me, aren't you?

Eccleston: …

Meaney: Thought so.

* * *

Eccleston: (_opens mouth_) Do these fangs look sharp enough to you? (_Rubs one with tongue_) Ouch. Bleagh. Yeah. Sharp enough.

* * *

(_Tena opens mouth wide, showing off fangs_) Aah! (_Laughs_)

* * *

(_Tena and Rickman circle each other, then rush at each other and start dancing a waltz; break off quickly_)

Tena: (_Laughs_) Sorry, couldn't help that. Okay, let's go again.

* * *

_Extra Scene _

(Jack is busy typing away at his computer; Ianto comes in with tea)

Ianto: (_hands Jack a cup_) What are you doing?

Jack: Oh, nothing, just making a virus that will wipe out any non-authorized computer trying to access files on the Doctor.

Ianto: Oh? Really?

Jack: Yeah. (_Grins evilly_) I'd hate to be the sucker who uncovers this little fella.

(_Scene Change; back to Quark's_)

Dax: I'm sorry, Quark, it's…well…fried to put it in Earth terms. You'll have to get another computer.

Quark: But…all my pre-programmed recipes…

Dax: Do you keep a backup?

Quark: (_Sigh_) Yeah. Are you sure there's no chance of repair?

Dax: Yes, Quark. (_Packs up tools; pauses_) By the way, what were you doing anyway that made it overload?

Quark: …

Dax: Never mind. I don't even want to know.

* * *

McGann: (_Slams scene marker_) And…_cut_! That's a wrap folks!

(_Lights go out_)

McGann: Hello? Uh, guys, I'm still here. (_Wanders off with back to camera_) Hello?! (_Screech_; _McGann_ _disappears_)

* * *

THE END…?


End file.
